No, Seriously
by The Eclectic Bookworm
Summary: AU. Aurelia Lily McGonagall. Scar on her forehead? Nope. Messy black hair? Nope. Almond-shaped green eyes? Nope. It's no wonder no one connects her with her brother. Even if she's fairly popular, she's somewhat overshadowed by Harry Potter. But she takes comfort in the fact that she has her Moony and her Mum and her two best friends, one of whom might be turning into more.
1. Prologue: A Brief Explanation

**So I really hope that the prologue doesn't give you the impression that Aurelia is a Mary-Sue. I've tried very hard to avoid that. I hope that at the very least you'll read the next chapter before making an assessment about Aurelia.**

* * *

"You called, Albus?" asked Minerva crisply, taking a seat in front of the headmaster.

"Indeed. I have something of the utmost importance I need to discuss with you."

Minerva nodded distantly. "Might this be about the prophecy, Albus? Because you have already informed me of that."

"Oh, no. This is something I would like you to take on. If not, I shall have to send her to live with-"

There was a small scuffle from behind the desk and an annoyed-looking three-year-old girl poked her head out. Her hair was a dark red that would have been gorgeous if not for the fact that it was tangled as if by an expert, and her eyes were a soft hazel. Small glasses were perched askew on her nose.

" 'Fessor Dumbles?" she said fairly loudly. "Didja know your bird blew up?"

"Yes, Aurelia, that's what phoenixes do."

"Oh." Then, "Can I have 'nother lemon drop?"

"I need to talk to Minerva for a moment, all right?"

"Okay." The auburn head disappeared behind the desk again.

"This," said Dumbledore patiently, "is what I need to discuss with you."

"Aurelia Potter? What, is she causing trouble for James and Lily? Frankly, I would not be surprised. That girl switches from being a terror to a darling in half a second."

"No, you see, I have had an unusual request from James."

Minerva nodded. "Albus, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Kindly cut to the chase."

Professor Dumbledore smiled slightly. "James would like to hide Aurelia here at Hogwarts for the time being."

"Here? At Hogwarts? But Albus-"

"If he and Lily are found by Lord Voldemort-Minerva, fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself-he wants Aurelia to be able to be safe. The only reason that he does not do the same for Harry is because Harry is going to be immensely important to the prophecy."

"And how did you run into James in the first place? My impression is that he and Lily are not leaving the house."

"I was picking up-ah-something of James' that I needed to borrow when he asked me this favor."

"Albus, what does this have to do with me?"

"I need you to take care of Aurelia in the event that anything might happen to Lily and James. We shall have to extract her memories, of course-"

"Extract her memories? Albus, you are talking of a child!" Minerva was on her feet now, her eyes blazing with rage.

"I do not want her to die at a Death Eater's hands because of something that she remembers. James tells me that Aurelia has a phenomenal memory."

"And he has given permission for you to do this?" replied a slightly mollified Minerva.

"Definitely."

Minerva swallowed. "Very well, Albus. I shall take care of Aurelia."

* * *

**NINE YEARS LATER**

"Aurelia Lily McGonagall, I cannot stress more to you the importance of timeliness on one's first day of school!" called Minerva's voice impatiently from the hallway.

Aurelia responded by throwing a crumpled-up wad of paper out the door and shouting back, "I can't leave now! Hester's in a fix and she needs to find the Amazing Lightning Sword!"

"You can read your book on the train, Aura, now are you dressed?"

"Can I answer that question later?" yelled Aurelia, jumping out of her bed and tossing her Hester Prime book to the floor.

Her hair was messy. It was always messy in the morning, but after she combed it it turned out considerably better, at least in appearance. She decided that she would comb it during the car ride and tied it back into a ponytail to hide the snarls. It really didn't work.

She grabbed a random t-shirt from her dresser and pulled it on with a groan. It was the one with the happy singing frog that her Uncle Malcom had sent her when she was eight. He'd gotten it five sizes too big, and even now it ended at her upper thighs.

Her jeans turned out to be relatively normal, but the singing frog made her look really stupid. Oh well. No time to change now.

"What time is it?" she yelled out the door.

"Eight-oh-seven! And at this rate, we'll get to the station at ten-thirty!"

"Muuum...you just freaked me out for no reason!"

"Ah. Oh. Well. I like to be prompt."

Aurelia groaned again and pulled off the happy singing frog shirt-or tried to. She ended up somehow getting her ponytail stuck in the neck hole and decided to just keep it.

She grabbed her writing notebook and a few Hester Prime books off of her shelf before hurrying out of her bedroom and tripping over the crumpled ball of paper she'd thrown out the door, just barely managing to keep her balance.

"Damnit," she muttered. And then, "Best be off."

Minerva hurried over and asked, "Did you put your trunk in the car?"

"Yeah, I put it in last night."

"Do you have a snack for the train?"

"Can't I just buy a Chocolate Frog?"

"No. Do you have a healthy snack for the train? You spent most of yesterday writing in your room and eating all of your Chocolate Frogs that you were supposed to eat on the train."

"Yeah, I have a snack." Aurelia pulled a face, then hurried past her mother, downstairs to the car they'd rented. Her eleventh year would surely prove to be an interesting one.

* * *

**I hope you'll continue on! Hang in there...it gets better.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	2. Year One: Making Friends and Enemies

**Edited as of May 20, 2014**

* * *

Aurelia placed a palm against the cool metal outside of the train, staring around with wide eyes. She hadn't expected so many people, and wondered vaguely if the train would fit everyone.

"You needing any help?" asked her mother, who was trying to avoid laughing at Aurelia's unusual getup. "I should be getting back to Hogwarts."

In response, Aurelia shook her head, still staring in awe at the scarlet engine. "It's so… so big, Mum."

Minerva smiled. "I recall having much the same reaction."

A moment passed, and then Aurelia burst out, "Mum, do you think I'm going to be a Slytherin? And if I am, will you be mad if I kill Gryffindor in Quidditch?" Aurelia was an excellent Chaser, and wanted to play on the Hogwarts team. That is, once second year came around and she would be allowed to.

Minerva frowned thoughtfully, pretending to consider. "Once you are Sorted, I will cheer you on at every match-whatever House you are in, as long as it isn't Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff."

"Mum!" Hazel eyes glared up reproachfully from behind wire-rimmed glasses.

Minerva laughed and hugged her daughter a little stiffly. "Don't you worry, Aura, I'll be proud of whatever House you get into."

She stepped away from Aurelia and whispered, "See you at Hogwarts" before disappearing into thin air.

* * *

Aside from Aurelia's early days spent with her adopted mum and eventual dad, Elphinstone (until he died when she was seven) she'd spent a good deal of her life at Hogwarts. All the teachers were like aunts and uncles to her, except for Snape who she'd never seen. He'd only gone to dinner at the staff table, and Aurelia made it a habit to socialize with the older Gryffindor students.

This made the prospect of a train ride seem a little less exciting, as Aurelia knew already what Hogwarts looked like.

She hurried down the hall until she came to an empty compartment and collapsed into a seat. This school business was tiring!

* * *

"Excuse me?"

Aurelia looked up from _Hester Prime_, one of her favorite books. "Hm?"

Three people were standing in front of her compartment.

The first was a girl who Aurelia would best describe as _petite._ She was a good five inches shorter than the other two, who were fairly short themselves. Her long, light blonde hair tickled the small of her back in a near-perfect parallel to her body, and she had blue eyes that made her pupils stand out rather oddly.

The other two were identical twins. Literally identical. Aurelia had to blink a few times, because the optometrist had told her that sometimes she would get "double vision" and she thought it was kicking in at the moment. Both had red hair, both had brown eyes that crinkled in a smile, and both seemed to be very nice people.

"Are you saving anyone a seat? Or can we sit here?" Although the girl's words could be interpreted as negative, the tone of her voice was shy and friendly.

Aurelia grinned and replied, "Sure! I'm Aurelia McGonagall."

"Blimey, like the professor?" commented one of the twins, squeezing past the girl and plopping into a seat next to Aurelia. "I'm Fred Weasley, my twin's name is George, and we met Priscilla Hathaway here on the platform."

"Does it matter what blood you are?" asked Priscilla shyly. "Someone called me a Muggle when I came onto Nine-And-Three-Quarters."

Fred shook his head emphatically. "No way. Just out of curiosity, Aury, what blood are you?"

Aurelia shrugged and replied softly, "My mum's Professor Minerva McGonagall, and she adopted me when I was three, right before my parents died in the war."

"I'm sorry, mate. Do you remember them at all?" asked George curiously.

"No," replied Aurelia, wondering why, and not for the first time.

* * *

She had a photographic memory, and could remember every single day of her life beginning when her mum adopted her, but for some reason couldn't think past that. All she recollected was that her dad had called her "Little Lily" and her mum made excellent scones.

Oh, and three words, three that always rose to the surface whenever she tried to remember.

_Padfoot._

_Prongs._

_Moony._

* * *

The train ride went quite quickly. Fred and George were hilarious, and although Priscilla was quiet she and Aurelia got along excellently.

The topic soon turned to Houses.

"I'll kill myself if I end up in Slytherin," groaned George dramatically. "I want to be in Gryffindor. I'll probably be the only one in my family who isn't in Gryffindor."

Aurelia smirked slightly. "Yeah, you seem like a Puff to me."

Fred laughed. "Careful-he bites."

George snorted. "Biting Percy doesn't count! He's a prat. Biting prats are allowed."

Aurelia was startled that the now-a-third year boy she always saw studying passively was in any way related to these loud and boisterous boys, but she had a feeling she should probably keep that to herself. Instead, she giggled at George's remark.

"I'd like to be in Ravenclaw," Priscilla commented quietly, twirling a lock of her hair (Aurelia silently envied her, her own hair was cut by her mum before it could reach her shoulders) and smiling.

"What about you, Aury?" Fred asked, his brown eyes staring into her hazel ones.

Aurelia shrugged. "Mum thinks I'll be a Gryffindor like her. I'd like to be in Gryffindor to please her."

She was also curious about Ravenclaw, as she felt she had more brains than bravery, but didn't really want to voice that. She truly wanted to be in Gryffindor, if only because her mother had been and she expected herself to.

She wasn't brave really though, she sort of froze up when she saw danger, and that wasn't a good quality in a person. Or at least in her opinion it wasn't.

The boat the four took to the castle very nearly sprang a leak, and Priscilla worried about the near-leak about half the ride while Fred and George oohed and aahed over the castle and Aurelia tried to calm her nerves.

"Merlin," she breathed, "I'm going to actually attend Hogwarts."

* * *

Finally, Hagrid led the first years up to the castle. He knocked three times on the door, and Aurelia realized that Priscilla was squeezing her hand.

Hard.

As the door opened, Priscilla's grip tightened.

"Ow!" yelped Aurelia loudly, realizing right after her exclamation that her mother was staring at her with a glare that only she recognized as an I'm-trying-very-hard-not-to-laugh-at-you glare.

She smiled back happily.

Her mother's mouth didn't change-Minerva was stingy with smiles-but her eyes softened as she led the first years inside.

* * *

"It's a bleeding hat?" Fred mumbled. "Pathetic. I'm going to tell Ron we had to wrestle a troll-that'll be good for a laugh."

Aurelia elbowed him. If she had a brother, she'd _never_ joke around with him just for fun.

The first years lined up apprehensively, looking around the Great Hall with awe. Aurelia, however, had already seen the Great Hall before, so to her this part was slightly boring.

_When are we going to get Sorted?_

"Andrews, Lucinda!" called her mother.

Lucinda Andrews, who had two mouse-colored braids that tickled the small of her back, sat down on a three-legged stool.

"SLYTHERIN!" yelled the hat.

A table in the corner erupted into cheers.

As Lucinda passed Aurelia, she stepped on her foot. Aurelia stifled an indignant gasp.

Priscilla was called first of the four, and Aurelia gave her a brief smile as the blonde nervously sat down on the stool.

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat, and Priscilla's face lit up as she hurried to a clapping table.

Soon after, it was Aurelia's turn.

Her mother squeezed her shoulder as she walked up, and whispered, "Remember, Aura, I don't care."

But Aurelia knew that that wasn't entirely true.

_Hmm, interesting,_ mumbled the hat. _I would think you would take after your parents, but I see Minerva's mind is rubbing off on you. You are most definitely intelligent. You have a quick wit, and I see you as a good fit for…_

"RAVENCLAW!"

Aurelia had seen it coming. But what did the hat mean about her parents?

She prayed that Fred and George would join her, but they were both sent to Gryffindor.

"Fare thee well, lovely ladies!" joked Fred, clapping Aurelia on the shoulder as he passed her. "We're still friends, though?"

Aurelia laughed. This would prove to be a very interesting year.

* * *

The other girls in Aurelia's dormitory seemed relatively nice, but she made sure that her bed was near Priscilla's.

She was a bit shy, though. The only other friends she'd had had been a boy she'd met in Diagon Alley when she was nine (they owled each other constantly) and older students, but never a girl her own age. She really hoped she could figure this out without losing Priscilla.

They talked about stupid things all night-Priscilla had a little sister who she was hoping would also attend Hogwarts, and she thought she didn't smile enough and was awfully pessimistic.

Then Priscilla mentioned, "And just so you know, I'm not too into boys yet. So don't be like the ghastly girls I was going to go to sixth grade with, please, and rub it in."

Aurelia laughed, relieved, and when she saw Priscilla's face fall she hastened to reply, "I don't think I'm into boys yet either!"

The two girls fell asleep an hour later than everyone else.

* * *

In the morning, Aurelia was woken by a sharp peck to her hand.

"Ouch!" she whispered, and looked up to see a brown owl staring down at her with a letter.

Aurelia took the letter and opened it, smiling as she recognized her mum's familiar handwriting.

_Dear Aura,_

_I figured you would enjoy having a pet, and this way we can send letters instead of talking during time you might want to spend with your friends._

_Congratulations on getting into Ravenclaw! I almost got in myself, you know, so I've always had a respect for that house._

_Have you made any new friends yet? I saw you talking to Priscilla Hathaway-a perfectly wonderful girl for you to befriend. I met her parents in Diagon Alley when we went to Florean's last summer._

_I apologize for the concise letter, but I have a boatload of paperwork to get through._

_I love you._

_Mum_

Aurelia grinned broadly-the letter hadn't been _that _concise-and began to get dressed.

* * *

Breakfast in the Great Hall began with a Hufflepuff first year giving Aurelia a small smile-

and then she recognized him.

"Cedric!" she shrieked happily, hugging her friend. "Oh my god, you've grown so much!"

Cedric laughed. "You too, Aurelia. Last I saw you, you came up to my knee."

Aurelia stuck her tongue out at him. "Did not."

"Did so."

She laughed again. "Wish you were in Ravenclaw with me?"

"Nah, I think I like Hufflepuff."

"Pfft. A Puff. I expected better of you. Cedric Diggory the Hufflepuff. Has a certain ring to it, I guess."

Cedric rolled his eyes. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Is that good or bad?" replied Aurelia playfully.

Priscilla hurried up to both of them. "Aurelia! I saved you a seat next to me, so hurry up before your pancakes get cold."

Aurelia waved a hurried good-bye to Cedric as Priscilla towed her to the table.

* * *

Transfiguration went as normally as it possibly could. Her mother did call her by her first name when she called the other students by their surnames, but she didn't really mind.

Charms was nice. Professor Flitwick gave her a little smile as he called her name for roll, and the spells were fun to do if difficult.  
But it was when Aurelia got to Potions that things went strange.

She was late, first of all. Lucinda Andrews had tripped Priscilla in the hall, and Aurelia helped Priscilla gather all her books.

So they were both in a rush to get to Potions. both of them giggling madly as they sprinted down the halls hand in hand.

Life is more fun with a friend.

They opened the door with traces of their smiles still on their faces.

Snape turned. He looked at Priscilla first. Then his eyes met Aurelia's-

He dropped the vial he was holding.

Aurelia gasped. A memory had come back at the sight of Snape's face.

Words.

_"Her name is Aurelia?"_

_"Severus, you're supposed to be at the meeting. You said you have information?"_

_"Lily, what are you planning on doing to her?"_

_"She's going to be safe. Just… once this war is over, maybe you'll see her again."_

_"She looks like you."_

Aurelia frowned, trying to make sense of the memory.

* * *

Severus stared at the girl. It couldn't be. He'd always thought Aurelia Potter had died, disappeared. Was never to be seen again.

He'd grieved for her along with Lily, the beautiful little girl with the red hair and James' eyes.

Somehow he'd been able to tell that there was more Lily than James in the child.

"Aurelia Pot- Aurelia McGonagall?"

Aurelia replied shyly, "I'm awfully sorry I'm late, Professor. You see, Priscilla tripped and her bag split, and I had to help her."

Snape nodded. "Like her mother," he muttered to himself. "James would never have done that."

"Please sit down," he told Aurelia.

The girl flashed him a smile-Lily's smile- and sat down next to a redheaded Gryffindor boy. Her blonde friend followed.

* * *

Potions was great fun. Aurelia found that, like flying, she quite enjoyed it-although she was still unsure of what she was doing.

"Professor?" she called, noticing something in the book that could be improved upon. "Is it all right if I deviate from the instructions? I think it would make a better potion."

* * *

Severus started. Lily had asked Slughorn that, once upon a time when he was a first year.

"Go ahead," he told her.

* * *

"Blimey, what'd you do right?" Fred demanded after class. "My brother Percy says that Snape only likes Slytherins."

"Percy the prat?" asked Priscilla innocently.

Aurelia shrugged. Her thoughts were still on the memory she'd unearthed.

Was Lily possibly her mother?

She told Priscilla about this-rather hesitantly, for she wasn't sure if Priscilla should be trusted-in the dormitory that night.

Priscilla frowned. "Maybe someone cast a spell on you when you were three to make you forget who you were."

Aurelia stared at her. "That would make total sense except for the fact that I don't know anyone who would do that."

Her friend gave a sigh. "I'm beat. Remind me to stay away from that Andrews girl before I pull her braids out for making me late to Potions."

Aurelia laughed.

* * *

That night she dreamed about the memory again. This time it was more vivid, and she could see it through a small child's eyes.

Professor Snape peered down at her, and no matter how much she tried to turn and see her mum, she was unable to even move her little finger.

She woke up in the middle of the night with a gasp, and ran around the Ravenclaw common room five times just to prove to herself that she wasn't frozen.

* * *

**Yay, we've got it started!**

**Reviews please :)**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	3. Year One: The Match and Birthdays

"Okay, so guess whose birthday is right after the Quidditch match and who got special permission to use Mum-I mean _Professor McGonagall's _office for a party?"

Fred and George laughed, and Priscilla replied playfully, "Me?"

"Sod off. No, seriously, my birthday's in five days."

"Excellent," responded Fred. "I'll have to find something impressively horrid, like one of those cute-kitten posters Alicia Spinnet hung in the common room for a dare."

"Kittens aren't horrible!" burst out both Aurelia and George emphatically. Priscilla burst into giggles at the indignation on the latter's face.

Fred pulled a face. "Whatever. I will do my best to satisfy your need for stupid girly items."

He had to hobble to Potions because of Aurelia's kick to his leg, and due to this he was late and got a detention from Snape.

* * *

"I can't take this anymore."

Aurelia giggled. "Calm down, Cilly, we've only got a few days left till my birthday, plenty of time to shop for presents."

Priscilla rolled her eyes. "Birthday schmirthday. Fred and George are going to root for Gryffindor, and we're going to root for Ravenclaw, and it's all nerve-wracking."

"Why don't you just root for a winning team for a change?" sneered Lucinda Andrews as she passed. "You do know Slytherin's won for five years straight, right? Or are you that out of touch, Priss-face?"

Priscilla huffed and shot back, "I bet you didn't even know that until you came here, Andrews."

Lucinda smirked and hurried towards her Charms class.

"What does that girl have against me?" seethed Priscilla.

"Might have to do with the fact that she's an Andrews. They're usually rotten," commented Cedric Diggory, stopping to grin at Aurelia. "You still worried about the match?"

Aurelia shrugged. "What happens happens. Mum'll be really happy if Gryffindor wins."

This seemed to satisfy Cedric, but not Priscilla. As he walked away, she asked patiently, "What about you?"

Aurelia shrugged again.

Her friend rolled her eyes. "All right then, have you remembered anything else?"

Priscilla found it very interesting that Aurelia couldn't remember anything about her early past, and had made it her mission to figure that out. Aurelia herself had no interest in this; she'd accepted her lost memories when she was nine and never really thought about it until the remembered memory in Potions class.

"No," Aurelia replied through gritted teeth.

"I've looked up some counter-charms for memory spells," Priscilla continued, "and all of them can only be performed by the caster of the original charm. So you aren't getting your memories back if you had _Obliviate_ performed on you."

Aurelia very pointedly strode down to the grounds, where she collapsed next to the lake and began taking out her story.

Priscilla hurried after her. "I'm sorry, Aurelia."

"Can we just leave it be? I don't want to talk about it. What's done is done."

"Both of us know that you don't believe that," replied Priscilla gently.

* * *

Fred poked Aurelia's hand with his quill. "Psst."

"Not now," she hissed back.

He groaned. "This stuff is boring. Are you seriously going to listen to Binns' every word?"

"Yes. Shut up. You'll be sorry when you get a Troll in your OWLs."

"My mum doesn't care about History of Magic. Come on, Aury, talk to me."

"_No_."

Fred pulled a comical face and whispered, "This is me dying of boredom."

Aurelia laughed out loud.

The whole class stared in their direction, and the abashed redhead turned quickly to her notes.

Her friend poked her. "I'm awful sorry, Aury. But please just talk to me. No one cares about History of-"

"Mum says I should be the top of my class because I'm so smart," replied Aurelia softly. "And I don't think I'm that smart, but I want her to be proud of me."

Fred sighed, then replied, "All right."

He doodled for ten minutes before he heard a soft "Oh, _fine_" from Aurelia. Fred gave his friend a wide grin.

* * *

The Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match was an exciting affair, as was the fact that Halloween was to bring with it a large feast. On the day of the Quidditch match, Aurelia noticed that all the Slytherins were wearing blue rosettes.

"I'd think you would be impartial," she commented in Potions while brewing a Sleeping Draught.

Snape snorted. "Better Ravenclaw than Gryffindor."

"Ooh, I'm so glad!" giggled Aurelia happily. "So the Slytherins will cheer me on next year if I make the team?"

"Brew your potion, Aurelia." Snape replied coolly.

* * *

Aurelia and Priscilla walked down to the pitch with Fred, George, and their new Gryffindor friends Angelina Johnson and Lee Jordan.

"We're going to cream you, I'm really sorry in advance," mumbled Priscilla shyly, blinking long-lashed blue eyes at Angelina and Lee.

"Have you seen Oliver Wood play?" Fred muttered to Aurelia. "All the second years say that he's the best Keeper in the school."

"I've heard that Roger Davies thinks himself quite the Chaser," replied Aurelia. "Next year he wants to try out."

"Hah, he's all talk."

"Like you, right Freddie? No wonder you're such good friends."

"Shut up."

Fred and Aurelia were becoming very close (although Aurelia's best girl friend was still Priscilla) due to their shared love of Quidditch, Fred's willingness to read Aurelia's fiction, and Aurelia's willingness to laugh at Fred's jokes.

They reached the pitch, and Aurelia grinned as her owl, Eurydice, flew onto her arm with a note.

_Aura,_

_Would you and your friends like to sit with me in the teachers' box?_

_Mum_

Aurelia stared eagerly up at the teachers' box, the one with the best view of the game. Priscilla and Fred agreed to, but George, Angelina, and Lee declined.

"It would just be too _weird_, mate," muttered George awkwardly. "Sitting with McGonagall...I dunno."

Aurelia's temper flared. "That's my mum you're talking about, George."

George blushed. "Sorry, Aurelia." He nodded vaguely in her direction, gave Priscilla a weak and uninterested smile, and grinned broadly at Fred before hurrying away.

* * *

Aurelia was on the edge of her seat for the entire match.

"Ooh, I wish I could fly like Oliver Wood!" gasped Priscilla as the Gryffindor Keeper dodged a Bludger and saved a goal at the same time.

"And GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" yelled the commentator.

Minerva and Fred cheered, and Aurelia and Priscilla (along with Professor Flitwick) groaned miserably.

"We can still win this!" Aurelia shouted excitedly. "Come on, Ravenclaws!"

"You're fighting a losing battle, darlin'," Minerva told her with a smirk.

Fred and Priscilla stared at each other. This was not the same Professor they were learning Transfiguration from.

"Go, go, Gryffindors!" shouted George and Lee from down in the stands, and Priscilla gave Fred a small smile.

"Don't worry about it," she told him. "He'll be back."

Fred sighed. "I don't know, Priscilla."

* * *

Gryffindor won, and Aurelia daringly hurried to congratulate Wood.

"Good saves, especially near the end," she smiled shyly.

Wood grinned. "Thanks-er-"

"Aurelia," the blushing girl replied. "Maybe you could help me with my flying? I'm trying out for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team next year."

Wood shrugged. "Dunno if I have time, but I can try."

"Thanks!" Aurelia beamed shyly at him before hurrying to catch up with her best friends.

* * *

Aurelia's party more than made up for Ravenclaw's loss. Aurelia got a boatload of Chocolate Frogs from her uncles, and shared them with her friends happily.

"Uncle Malcolm, Uncle Robert, I love you," mumbled Aurelia through a mouthful of Chocolate Frog.

Fred grinned and held up an Agrippa card. "Mind if I keep this, Aury?"

"Sure, in exchange for my present."

"Crap, I forgot." Fred dug in his satchel and unearthed a pair of blue satin slippers. "Here. I figured you'd like something to show your individuality. You know, since you were wearing all that neat clothing on the train?"

Aurelia beamed shyly at him. "Thanks ever so much! I'll wear them every day." She slid out of her black school shoes and tried them on, twirling around a few times before knocking into a desk and falling on top of Priscilla. "Oh Merlin, these are my dream shoes."

Fred laughed. "I think I beat you, Priscilla."

In response, Priscilla pulled out a small book. "It's called _The Magic City,_" she explained. "It's a Muggle book but I think you would like it. Tell me, okay?"_  
_

"Sure-" Aurelia suddenly stopped talking and hugged first Fred, then Priscilla. "I've never had friends my age before," she explained bashfully.

Fred smiled. "I don't see why."

A phrase bubbled up out of her, one she didn't quite understand. "It's really a shame that Moony isn't here right now," Aurelia commented sadly before asking "Wait, who's Moony?"

"I, um, I thought that you would know," replied Priscilla bemusedly.

Fred shrugged. "Leave her be, it's her birthday. We'll have to harass her tomorrow."

"I can hardly wait," Aurelia giggled, her heart singing, because she'd never dreamed that she'd have friends this lovely.

If only George were here with them.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	4. Year One: Combustion and Flight

**Here we go! **

* * *

Aurelia scribbled eagerly on the paper, relishing in the sound that the quill made as she created her newest story. A soft cough with a hint of guilt jerked her out of her reverie.

"I get the feeling you aren't listening to what I'm saying, Aurelia," her mother admonished her. Wide-eyed, the rest of the class stared at her.

"Might we read what kept your attention for so long?"

"No, don't!" gasped Aurelia. However good she thought the story was, she knew Lucinda would laugh at her.

Minerva cleared her throat, and Aurelia's heart sank.

Across the classroom, Fred Weasley frowned and rummaged in his schoolbag. Not to his friend she didn't! He groaned. He was going to get into heaps of trouble if this succeeded.

* * *

Minerva bit her lip. She absolutely hated having to do this to Aurelia. She knew that her daughter would get teased mercilessly, but it was her duty as a teacher. Then again, she'd never want to put Aurelia through anything, but didn't trials build character? Or did they destroy character? Or should she-

Then a trash can spontaneously combusted, breaking her out of internal debate.

She whirled towards the leaping flames, then towards the students, carefully dropping Aurelia's manuscript next to its grateful author.

"Mister Weasley!" she snapped rather happily. "How dare you!"

Fred got detention for the rest of the term. But after class, Aurelia ran up to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"You're a lifesaver!"

He grinned shyly at her. "No problem."

"Oh my god, Aurelia!" Priscilla hurried to the both of them, and began to chatter happily. "I was so worried that she was going to read it! What would have happened if Andrews heard that, you know?"

Fred was still reeling slightly from the kiss, but ignored a half-formed consciousness that had professed its love for Aurelia and was writing out wedding invitations.

* * *

Priscilla was walking to meet Aurelia next to the lake when she tripped.

Over Andrews' size nine, black-flat-clad, slightly evil foot.

She knew this because she heard a little giggle, and then she shifted as her roadblock moved away. Priscilla sprang up, but before she could do anything, someone hurried over to her.

"Are you all right?"

Priscilla nodded, staring into Cedric Diggory's warm brown eyes, and her heart did cartwheels for the first time.

* * *

"He's the most adorable boy in the entire world," sighed Priscilla.

Aurelia and Fred rolled their eyes at each other before the former replied, "Aren't you a bit young to fancy Cedric, Cilly?"

Priscilla glared at her friends. "You wait! I'll bet you end up with…" Her mind cast around for some suitably shocking pronouncement. "...with Fred!"

Aurelia and Fred stared at each other, and then both of them burst out laughing.

Priscilla groaned. "You know what? Let's just not talk about this until one of us is actually going out with someone."

Snorting slightly, Aurelia nodded.

* * *

"_Flying_ lessons?" shrieked Priscilla. "No! I want to stay on the ground!"

"It isn't mandatory, Prissy," Aurelia told her from her perch on the dormitory bed. "I know_ I'm_ going-anything to be on a broom again. I miss my Nimbus."

"You have a Nimbus?" Lila Cooper, coming up with her textbooks, kicked off her shoes. "That's really cool. When are you going to bring it to school?"

"Next year," Aurelia mumbled bitterly.

"You're really multitalented, Aurelia," commented Lila. "Excellent at school-"

-this was a bit of a stretch, especially considering her current grades in History of Magic (thanks, Fred)-

"-and writing those weird stories-"

-Aurelia squeezed the bedcover so she wouldn't squeeze Lila's head-

"-and now flying!"

Priscilla bit back a giggle.

* * *

Flying lessons were on a cloudy day, with wind that bit at the noses of Aurelia and Fred as they hurried down to the grounds.

"It's freezing," groaned Fred dramatically.

Aurelia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, you're going to have to live with it."

Fred smiled suddenly. "Hey, you know, this could serve as practice for Quidditch tryouts."

Aurelia grinned excitedly. "I can't wait!"

* * *

"Aargh, stupid crap school brooms," groaned Aurelia under her breath to Fred. "Stupid stupid crap school brooms. I bet these date from the eighties."

"Oh come on, Aury, that's not too long ago."

"I mean the eighteen eighties. Or the time when brooms were first invented and no one cared about splinters up your-"

Madam Hooch, who was sorting the brooms, tried not to smirk. The girl, with her sharp wit and quick remarks, reminded her of both Minerva and, for some strange reason, James Potter.

* * *

Fred was an excellent flier.

Aurelia cheered him on, bouncing up and down, her shoulder-length, dark red hair spilling out of the ponytail she'd put it in for the lessons. This might have been the reason why he tried to show off. He stood up on the broom and then he tried to fly upward.

He wasn't intending to fall.

* * *

He was about fifty feet up, and plummeting fast. Aurelia didn't actually think through what she did next.

She jumped onto the broom and pressed herself to it, shooting up into the air, even though it wasn't her turn.

She didn't actually catch Fred, but her hand grabbed his forty feet from the ground.

Fred struggled, trying to get onto the broom.

"Stop!" Aurelia told him firmly. Then she very carefully steered, one-handed, until Fred's toes grazed the grass and he could let go.

Then she jumped off and briefly hugged her friend.

"Thank goodness," she exhaled.

Fred gave her a weak grin.

She didn't hear Madam Hooch's stunned voice saying "Twenty points to Ravenclaw" or Lucinda Andrews' little gasp. She didn't think about the fact that for the first time she hadn't had to think to act. She didn't see Fred's almost deranged grin of relief, or anything of the sort. Everything at that moment was joy that Fred was okay, and later when she reflected on this she realized that that might have been the beginning.

* * *

Aurelia told Priscilla all about it in the dormitory that night.

"You saved his _life_?" the latter gasped.

Aurelia shrugged shyly. "Well, in a way I suppose so."

Priscilla noticed a little flush in her friend's cheeks, and a shy smile on her lips, and reflected idly that her shocking pronouncement may have had some inkling of truth in it.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	5. Year One: Prongs and Rowie

**Okay, I lied. I'm DYING to write about Aurelia and Harry, so that'll be coming up soon.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Aurelia was getting bored of school until the test. That day, she and Priscilla had spent all night owling Fred to and from the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw dormitories, so they really weren't ready for a Charms test. Charms was Priscilla's best subject, but not Aurelia's. And it was a practical exam, which made the whole situation even worse for her.

"Now," squeaked Professor Flitwick, "I will call you up by name, and you will levitate this quill."

Aurelia groaned. Across the classroom, so did Fred from where he'd planted his face in his book in an attempt to get some sleep.

Priscilla's levitation was impeccable. She even made the quill fly across the room and do loop-the-loops around Cedric Diggory's head. And by some lucky stroke, Fred levitated it as well. But Aurelia's quill spontaneously combusted right before she accidentally set a desk on fire.

* * *

"I blew it," groaned Aurelia miserably.

Fred slung an arm around her. "Cheer up, Aury, I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"Come off it, Fred, I gave Angelina a second-degree burn and Flitwick almost caught on fire." Here Priscilla bit her lip, trying not to laugh at the image of a very small inferno dashing around the classroom, screaming bloody murder.

"Hey, I know what'll cheer you up," Fred told her. "Look what I found in Filch's office!"

* * *

Fred had been sent down to the office for one of his usual pranks when Priscilla had noticed he was missing and bravely set off a Dungbomb before running like hell. While Filch tried to catch the culprit, Fred had grabbed the parchment.

"I think it's magic!" he told his best friends.

Aurelia frowned doubtfully and took the worn-out scrap of parchment. Tentatively, she prodded it with her wand and mumbled, "Um, hello?"

Words instantly appeared on the parchment.

_Little Lily? Do my nonexistent ears-slash-eyes deceive me? Wouldn't peg you as the type to find my map. I give you free rein as long as you don't tell anyone about this. -Prongs_

Aurelia's breath caught in her throat.

_Little Lily._

She shook her head a little, clearing herself of the ridiculous half-formed ideas that had come to her.

"Okay," she replied.

_Next time,_ the parchment told her, _just say I solemnly swear I am up to no good and it'll do it for you._

Then lines appeared on the parchment, lines that morphed into a map…

"Oh my god," whispered Aurelia.

"Did that piece of parchment call you 'Lily'?" asked Fred.

Aurelia completely forgot about the Charms test as all three of them stared in awe at the extraordinary map of Hogwarts.

* * *

Of course, when she got a telling-off from her mother, she remembered again.

"You are much more capable than this, Aurelia!" shouted Minerva, pacing her office (which was where she'd called a mother-daughter meeting) and staring fixedly at the shaking redhead. "I know you can get better grades, but you just don't want to try! What kind of career do you expect to have? A barmaid in the Leaky Cauldron?"

Aurelia clenched her fists together, bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. She couldn't speak for fear of crying.

"Setting a desk on fire and burning Johnson's hand? Show some self-restraint! Just like your father, brightest boy I've ever taught-"

"You knew my father?"

Minerva's pacing abruptly ceased and she stared into Aurelia's pale face. The twelve-year-old had completely forgotten that she was being told off.

* * *

Ever since Aurelia could remember, she'd hungered for knowledge of her family. She'd had to put it out of her mind when she became a writer (orphans inhabited every square inch of her stories) but longed to know that somewhere there was someone who would know her, someone who would tell her all about her real parents.

That's why this knowledge startled her. All she knew was that her mother had taken her in when she was three from a mysterious woman wandering in Hogsmeade, who had said she was a half-blood named Aurelia.

Not for a heartbeat did Aurelia believe that her mum hadn't been one hundred percent truthful. Why would her mother lie?

That is, not until now.

* * *

"Mum, what are you talking about?" whispered Aurelia shakily. "You have to tell me."

Minerva swallowed. It hadn't been an easy choice, doing what she'd done, but she knew that the sister of the famous Harry Potter would get too much unwanted attention. Severus, she knew, had already figured it out, and her intention was to make him the last.

"N-nothing, Aurelia," replied Minerva with a similar quiver in her voice. "I must have been mistaken-"

"You wouldn't make that up, Mum, tell me please!" Tears were swimming in the girl's hazel eyes.

"I cannot tell you!"

The outburst shocked both Aurelia and Minerva, and the latter hastened to tack on, "I wish I could, but under the circumstances…"

"You don't know what it's like, not knowing what you're missing out on!" yelled Aurelia angrily. "You don't know how it feels to wonder if somewhere you have a little brother or an older sister! For all I know I could be related to _Harry Potter_ and you wouldn't tell me!"

Minerva blanched. It had been a lucky guess, she desperately hoped it was a lucky guess.

"Aura-"

"Don't call me that!" sobbed out Aurelia, scrubbing furiously at her eyes.

Minerva put her head in her hands. "Darlin', you don't under-"

"Don't tell me I don't understand!" shouted Aurelia. "Don't you dare!"

She then commenced to burst into tears, sprinting out of the office.

* * *

After about three minutes of blindly running, Aurelia collapsed in a sobbing heap on a small pile of books.

"_Ouch!_" she yelped, leaping up. The books were hard and unwelcoming.

She groaned. The fall had scratched up her glasses. And who was going to help her out here? There was no way she was speaking to her mother ever again.

Then she rolled her eyes at her stupidity. This was, after all, a school full of teachers who had helped raise her. She could just walk down and ask Auntie Pomona for help.

But then Auntie Pomona would know that something was up.

"Stupid glasses!" she shouted angrily in the empty hallway, wanting to vent her anger and frustration on something. "You and your stupid damn bugger crap ugly-face mean-"

She groaned again. She didn't even have energy to curse right.

"Okay, fine," she told a bust of Rowena Ravenclaw smiling quizzically at her from a niche across from her. "Fine. I overreacted, Mum's evidently going to kill me, stuff like that. But still. She could have at least told me that she knew my real dad and, hell, probably my real mum. No, you know what? She lied."

Rowena smiled.

"She did. She did lie. I deserve to be mad at her."

Rowena smiled.

"I bet I really hurt her feelings," sighed Aurelia guiltily. "I bet she's crying in her office and wiping her tears with that stupid Gryffindor handkerchief. I bet she's heard me calling it stupid and now she's crying even more."

A stifled laugh came from the hallway, but Aurelia didn't hear it. Rowena continued to smile.

"You," Aurelia decreed in Rowena's direction, "are beginning to look slightly vacuous. I am getting the feeling that the sculptor didn't think much of you."

Rowena smiled.

"Do you think I should apologize?"

Rowena smiled.

"You're right, I shouldn't. She did lie to me for eight years, after all. I bet she was the one who Obliviated me. I bet my mum was super nice. I think her name was Lily, maybe that would be why my dad called me Little Lily."

There was a loud crash from behind her. Aurelia spun around.

A pale man, late twenties, was staring incredulously at her as if he'd known her forever. There were streaks of silver in his hair, and he had a tired look about him, and for some reason some buried part of Aurelia wanted to run into his arms and curl into him because she _knew _him...

She frowned, embarrassed. "Um, did you see all of that?"

The man smiled slightly. "I did, yes."

Aurelia groaned. "Great. Just great. I'm not crazy, you know. That's a bust. I know that. I used to talk to her when I was little is all because I grew up in the castle and there weren't many kids to play with during the summer. I call her Rowie."

The man's mouth twitched.

"You know what? I'm just going to stop talking because at this point I do look crazy to you. Excuse me, I'm going to go up to my dormitory and cry for a long time until Priscilla shows up and wants to know why I'm crying, and I won't tell her." Aurelia was unsure of why she was talking to this man like she knew him, but something told her that he wasn't going to judge anything that she said.

The man sighed. "I wish I could help you, Aurelia, but I have to speak with Professor Dumbledore."

"Fair enough." Aurelia nodded to him before hurrying to the Ravenclaw dormitory and sobbing under the covers of her bed for nearly an hour.

* * *

It took her a week to realize that she had never told the man her name.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	6. Year One: Mystery and Misdeeds

**Ta da! So I'm updating at night, which is stupid, but whatever. I really hope you enjoy this, it was fun to write.**

* * *

Harry Potter scratched his nose sleepily before flipping on his cupboard light. Night-time was the only time he had to himself.

He picked up the tattered, loved photo that he'd found when he was five, of a red-headed baby girl being held by her parents. Their smiles were glazed and faded, and written on the back was _Me, James, and Aurelia, the Muggle way so you needn't be upset._

He'd found it with a birth announcement for Aurelia Lily Potter, who'd been born on May the seventeenth of 1978.

His older sister by two years.

The nine-year old wished, as he always had for the past four years, that she, like him, had survived the car crash. Then he'd have someone who would love him and care for him and hold the frying pan when they made pancakes and laugh with him about how stupid Dudley was.

He exhaled miserably. Sometimes he thought that knowing he'd had a sister made everything all the worse.

* * *

Aurelia thought of the man many times. He was so ridiculously familiar, and it nagged at her brain until she had to launch into a conversation with Fred about stupid things just so she could stop thinking about him.

Unlike Snape, he had unlocked no memory. She had the sense that she had loved him so much, so completely, that all trace of him had had to be eliminated.

Aurelia wasn't talking to her mother and wondered sometimes if she ever would again. But then she remembered that her mother had been lying to her for eight years about her parentage. In short, she was in a rather dismal mood and it was reflected in her schoolwork.

* * *

Then Priscilla came up with a rather intriguing theory.

"What if your mum Obliviated you?" she suggested one day. The three of them were stretched out on the grass near the lake, staring up at the sky.

"D'you think she might've?" replied Aurelia softly, sadly. "I wouldn't know, because-" She sprang up, brown eyes flaming. _"SHE NEVER BLOODY TOLD ME ANYTHING!"_

Fred jumped up as well. "Easy, Aury, easy. Don't kill the eardrums of everyone within fifty miles." Aurelia pressed her lips together and sank back into the grass, anger and misery conflicting within her.

She lay there in silence until Fred coughed and told her, "Look, I'm meeting George and Lee, so I've got to go-"

Priscilla swallowed, then muttered, "Right, George. I forgot. You two are still friends then?"

Fred groaned. "I'm sorry that he doesn't like you all that much, but he's one of my best friends."

"Yeah. Sorry, Fred, it's just-" She jerked her head almost imperceptibly towards a dejected-looking Aurelia.

Fred sighed. "I'll see you later, then?"

Aurelia nodded dismally.

* * *

It was about two weeks later when Aurelia had her idea. She was in History of Magic, leaning over her desk to play tic-tac-toe with Fred, when it occured to her that Fred and George were the kings of sneaking around. It also occurred to her that she wanted information. And Fred could help her find it.

"Fred," she hissed.

"Ha! X-x-x, I'm champion! What is it, Aurelia?"

"Fred, I want to break into my mum's office and search for photographs. Or anything that could give us a clue of who I might be."

Fred groaned. "Aurelia, are you trying to expel me?"

Aurelia flushed. "Sorry, I know it sounds ridiculous, I just-"

"Because if you aren't, I'm not doing it. Come on, we need to talk to Priscilla about this. If anyone can make a foolproof plan, it'll be her."

Aurelia laughed with relief.

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks wasn't one to eavesdrop.

But when she and Charlie Weasley were both talking excitedly about his plans for dragon-hunting (not actually killing the dragons, he found that inhumane) she noticed a first year with Charlie's red hair talking to two girls rather quietly, casting furtive glances around the grounds.

She held up a hand, signalling Charlie's silence (the latter walked away with an irritated eye roll), and snuck behind a tree on a hill, listening curiously.

Okay, so she lied, she was one to eavesdrop.

"So breaking into Mum's office will be easier with the map, right?" asked a girl with hair a few shades darker than the boy's.

"Yeah," replied the boy. "I think it shows you where people are. Fred will keep a lookout with the map, and if anyone is coming we'll be able to avoid them."

A blonde girl nodded and smiled sadly at the other two. "I wish I could go with you, but I don't want to get into any trouble.."

Tonks wasn't known for her ability to stand still. She shifted awkwardly and lost her balance, falling with a thump and rolling down the hill, smudging her Hufflepuff uniform with smears of dirt.

She groaned. "I've given myself away, haven't I?"

The redhead boy sighed, and Tonks recognized him. He was one of the twins that Charlie had introduced her to… Fred? George?

"Please don't tell, Nympha-"

"It's Tonks!" she interrupted quickly. "And I won't tell. Who's 'Mum' anyway?"

One of the girls spoke. "I'm Professor McGonagall's adopted daughter. And she's withholding information that is of great-" She paused, obviously searching for the right words. "Of great _personal value._"

Tonks grinned. "Can I help?"

In response, Professor-McGonagall's-adopted-daughter gave her a warm smile.

* * *

"Bloody hell, that's quite a map," gasped Tonks.

Aurelia giggled softly. "Oh- there's Filch!"

They sped up, taking a few detours to avoid Filch, Peeves, Snape, Peeves, the Bloody Baron, Peeves, Mrs. Norris, and Peeves. Soon they reached Minerva's office, Aurelia slipping out a rusty old key that she used to unlock the door.

Fred grinned and whispered, "Aury, will you marry me? I love a girl that has keys to the Transfiguration test answers."

Aurelia stifled a laugh. "How about when we're seventeen and also when I've lost my mind?"

"Touche."

They stepped in, Fred still staring at the map and Aurelia slipping silently to her mother's desk, a glint in her eyes. She opened the desk drawer-or tugged at it. Of course it was locked.

"Move aside, little midget," hissed Tonks teasingly, hurrying to the desk (and narrowly missing knocking into a wall).

She pointed her wand at the desk. "Alohomora!"

The desk sprang open, and Aurelia sucked in a breath-

But before she could get a good look at the photographs tucked inside the desk drawer, Fred hissed, "We need to get out of here now. Your mum's about to come here-"

As the door creaked open, Fred, Aurelia, Priscilla, and Tonks raced out of the room-

-but not before Aurelia had grabbed a photograph.

* * *

She didn't have any opportunity to look at the photo that night, as it was enough effort to race down the corridors with Fred yelling "Left turn-right turn-_crap_, Peeves-okay, left again-" and get safely to the Ravenclaw common room.

And when she slid into her bed, she fell fast asleep.

* * *

Minerva ran to the desk. It had been opened, true, but she only saw the top photo missing, and although it showed Aurelia with her family there was no way that the former would recognize the identities of the latter.

She exhaled, relieved. There was no one else who would break into her office, and nothing else was missing.

Aurelia's key, forgotten, hung in the lock, but underneath the anger at the girl was fierce pride.

_Just like her father._

* * *

In the morning, Aurelia and Priscilla hurried down to meet Fred and Tonks and reveal the photograph.

"Well?" demanded Tonks. "What did I engage in criminal activity for?"

Aurelia's face glowed with happiness as she pulled out the photo. "A picture of my real parents."

* * *

A dark-haired man with glasses over his hazel eyes-Aurelia's hazel eyes-was giving the camera an ear-splitting grin and holding a three-year-old, squirming Aurelia in his arms. Next to him, a redheaded woman with Aurelia's smile held a black-haired baby in her arms. The baby in question was wrapped in a red-and-gold blanket.

Standing next to them was a dark-haired man with a cocky grin, and a pale-looking man, early twenties, with mousy hair streaked with silver-

* * *

_Uncle Moony-_

* * *

Priscilla stared, open-mouthed. She'd seen that baby in a history book-but it couldn't be-

She shoved the thought aside. It was impossible.

But she knew she was going to have to look into it.

After all, you don't just tell one of your best friends that she's Harry Potter's older sister without sound and unyielding proof.

* * *

Aurelia stared at the man.

"Moony?" she whispered.

And then she understood. Her mind flickered back to the hallway and Rowena and him, so close and yet so far.

She knew, she knew, she had to find him.

* * *

**So Priscilla's figured it out! This story isn't all about Aurelia, there are a lot of other people coming in soon enough.**

**But it'll probably end around her seventh year and then I might write a sequel-or I'll just continue it, we'll have to see.**

**Reviews are appreciated, and here I take the time to thank Abigail Grace Mandogirl for reviewing every chapter.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	7. Year One: Carols and Christmastime

**Yay, a new chapter! I know, I know, I suck for not updating, but I promise there's something coming soon.**

* * *

"CHRISTMAS!" shrieked Aurelia directly into Fred's ear. "CHRISTMAS IS COMING!"

"Okay, I have put up with a lot," replied Fred irritably, slamming shut his Transfiguration textbook and glowering up at his friend. "I have listened to you natter on about the Muggle book Priscilla gave you, read every single draft of that Jemina Jones thing that you're writing, and agreed with you that the Chudley Cannons are the worst in the league even though my little brother would have my head for that. But I will _not, _I repeat _not,_ allow you to yell in my ear like the mental maniac that you are. Have we got that clear, or do I need to-"-here he checked his textbook briefly-"-turn you into a shrub?"

"Aww, has someone been studying too much?" cooed Aurelia. "Come on, let's go down to the kitchens and stuff our faces, hmm?"

Fred smiled reluctantly. "I just really want to make the grade. Got a lot to live up to, you know."

He did. Bill was Head Boy, Charlie was Quidditch captain, and Percy was making perfect grades. Literally perfect. Bill and Charlie came close but they were most definitely not as flawless as Percy's long-winded answers to simple questions seemed to be to the teachers.

"Yeah, but Cilly and I already think you're the best," Aurelia told him gently. "And I think you should live in the moment for now. It's the holidays, my darling Freddy! Let us romp and frolic and pull all of Andrews' hair out!"

Fred's smile was becoming quite more real now. "Thanks. You're really something, Aury."

Aurelia smiled back. "I like being something. Is it a good something or a bad something? Oo! Let's go sing carols in front of that enormous tree Hagrid just put up!"

Fred winced. "I love you, but you have the most awful voice I have ever heard. Ever." Seeing Aurelia's crestfallen expression, he added hastily, "But that doesn't mean that we can't go find Priscilla and sing carols! Of course! Come on, let's do this."

Aurelia beamed at him.

* * *

Priscilla was sitting with Nymphadora Tonks, in a discussion about something called a radio that Muggles apparently liked to listen to.

"Oi!" called Aurelia excitedly. "We're going to sing carols, either of you want to come?"

"Ooh, yes!" squealed Priscilla and Tonks together, both of them popping up like jack-in-the-boxes. Aurelia smiled elatedly and tossed them both booklets filled with different Christmas carols.

* * *

_"O, Christmas Tree, O, Christmas Tree,"_ sang Aurelia gaily, completely oblivious to the horrified stares she was getting from students and the multiple people covering their ears, "_how lovely are your branches!"_

Fred smiled slightly. There was something immensely endearing about the way she didn't care about what people thought of her. Really, she was one of the best friends he'd ever had.

_"O, Christmas_-Aaa!" Aurelia tripped over Tonks' poorly-positioned foot. "Damnit! I lost my place! Now I'll have to start all over-why d'you think the hall's so empty?"

Fred and Priscilla both stared fixedly away from each other and Tonks hid a smile.

* * *

"Mistletoe," commented Priscilla, pointing up at the sprig above Aurelia and Fred, who hadn't really been paying attention to where they were going.

Aurelia groaned. "I hate kisses. Does it have to be on the cheek or on the lips?"

Fred responded by pecking her awkwardly on the cheek and sprinting ahead so that she couldn't see his cheeks burning or hear his excited giggling that he couldn't exactly stifle.

Aurelia laughed and rolled her eyes. "Boys. So unromantic."

* * *

"I think it's awful," stated Priscilla happily. "I hate it. Thank you so much and Happy Christmas." Then she burst out laughing and nearly cracked her head on the mirror. "No, seriously, Aurelia. Aunt Marie gives the most awful gifts. Last year she gave me a pair of drawers. Real drawers. Like the underwear type, and Dad made me wear them whenever she came over. And you could tell I was wearing them because they didn't fit under my jeans."

Aurelia was laughing as well by this point. "Oh yeah? Just be glad _your_ aunt didn't give you a toy mouse when you were eight and really wanted a doll and your mum wouldn't get you one because she thought they were creepy. I spent _weeks_ begging Auntie Lucy to buy me a doll and she went and bought me a toy mouse. It was emotionally scarring."

"Oh Merlin. If that's emotionally scarring, I'll hate to see you when you injure yourself." Priscilla pulled her hair into a ponytail and tied it with a red ribbon. They didn't have to wear their uniforms today, and Priscilla and Aurelia were wearing matching red dresses that Aurelia's Uncle Filius (Professor Flitwick to his students) had given them since he'd seen how close they had become. Aurelia had found satin ribbons in a box of decorations and brought them to Priscilla, and now they were preparing for the Christmas Eve feast.

"You ready?" Aurelia smiled warmly at her best friend, and wondered for the millionth time how she got so lucky.

"As I'll ever be," Priscilla replied, but there was a strange sadness hanging around her.

* * *

"Happy Christmas!" Aurelia was grinning widely at her friends and holding a small basket of parcels. "Here, for Priscilla, Fred, Tonks, umm, oh wait. Some of these are for the teachers, I need to sort them." She tossed Priscilla two presents. "Double, since today's your birthday."

"You remembered!" gasped Priscilla incredulously. "Thanks loads."

Fred grinned guiltily, and Priscilla rolled her eyes. "Please. I didn't expect you to."

Presents were opened with gusto. Aurelia was overjoyed to get more Muggle books from Priscilla, Priscilla literally squealed when she opened a copy of _Hester Prime,_ and Fred's joke products were appreciated by both girls.

"Could I ask for anything more?" sighed Priscilla contentedly.

"Chocolate Frogs. Always," Aurelia replied very seriously before leaning on Fred and announcing "I'm exhausted. Thank Merlin the feast is over or I'd be losing face already, you know, falling asleep at the table and breaking something?"

Priscilla smirked. Fred's flaming cheeks gave his secret away.

And Aurelia wasn't as subtle as she thought.

"I give it till third year," Tonks hissed to her.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	8. Year One: Clever Priscilla and Reveals

**Okay, so we've skipped ahead in the year to where things are going to start to get interesting (AND more fun for me to write, these happy rainbows are frustrating).**

**This chapter I have a feeling you'll enjoy.**

* * *

Aurelia, frustrated, tossed a crumpled ball of parchment at the overflowing trash bin.

"I hate you, Jemmy," she groaned.

Jemina Jones was the current heroine of her soon-to-be novel, and also the most difficult person to write for in the history of the universe.

"What're you doing?" asked Oliver Wood curiously.

She turned, surprised.

The students were studying for final exams in the Great Hall. Aurelia hadn't talked in a friendly way to her mum since their falling-out, but she had made an excellent friend in Nymphadora Tonks. The latter proved to have a great interest in Aurelia's short stories, and found them "promising". Slytherin had won both at Quidditch and at the House Cup (which she had been quite annoyed by) but she was convinced that Ravenclaw would somehow soar to glory next year. She still was unsure as to why George had no interest in spending time with her or Priscilla. It made it extra strenuous on Fred, who had to split his time between his two best friends and his brother's friends.

Aurelia looked shyly up at the thirteen-year-old. "I'm writing a story."

"Can I see it?"  
Aurelia stared at the blank parchment for a moment, and replied, "A nonexistent story which isn't done yet."

Wood laughed. "Cool, but I meant when it's done."

She blushed.

"Oi, Wood!" called a girl, and Wood hurried away, neglecting to excuse himself.

"Git," muttered Priscilla, sliding into a seat next to Aurelia.

"You just say that because he's better than you at flying," countered the latter with a giggle.

Priscilla cracked a smile. "True."

"McGonagall, Hathaway?" George hurried up to the pair, and Priscilla buried her face in her work. "Either of you seen Fred?"

Aurelia shook her head. "Try asking Lee."

George shrugged and hurried away. As soon as he was gone, a profusely blushing Priscilla resurfaced from her work.

"What, do you fancy him too now?" snapped Aurelia irritably.

"No, I just have trouble talking to boys," Priscilla mumbled.

* * *

Priscilla returned to her work, scanning the chapter from _Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century_ on Harry Potter.

_Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived, was born on 31 July 1980. He was the first child of James and Lily Potter._

_However, a rumor still persists that Harry Potter had an older sister, Aurelia-_

Priscilla dropped the textbook with a yelp.

Aurelia stared at her. "Did the textbook bite you or are you just crazy?"

Priscilla laughed weakly and picked up the book again.

_-an older sister, Aurelia, who was hidden by her parents somewhere in Britain. Her identity would have been protected with Memory Charms-_

-here Priscilla stifled a gasp-

_-and so although this theory is plausible there is no solid evidence besides rumor. The only hint of this possibility is the extra bedroom in Lily and James Potter's house that was stripped of all furniture, but decorated much like a three-year-old girl's._

Priscilla stared incredulously at the picture of what Aurelia might have looked like.

It sure looked one hell of a lot like her best friend.

* * *

Fred sunk into the grass, miserable.

_How can someone be so bloody oblivious to the fact that I fancy them? _

He'd avoided both his groups of friends today, so he could sit by the lake and mull over what to do about Aurelia. The only person in the world who could make him laugh with her laugh. She sounded like little ringing bells when she laughed, and the effect was so hilarious that he had to laugh as well. He sighed and skipped a smooth stone over the lakeshore. He hated having two sets of friends. He also hated that George thought he shouldn't hang out with "frilly little Ravenclaw girls".

* * *

When Fred sat down in History of Magic for the final exam, he felt Aurelia poke him with her quill.

He ignored her.

"Fred," hissed Aurelia.

Fred stared at the first question on the test.

"Fred."

_What year did Uric the Oddball become the first person to accidentally invent a spell?_

"Fred? Did I do something?"

Fred shook his head. "No, Aurelia, just let me concentrate."

He scribbled down _1851_ as a random guess. Anything, anything at all, to keep himself from becoming even more confused.

* * *

"He's ignoring us," complained Aurelia.

Priscilla shrugged. "He'll be back."

"Wasn't that what you said about George, who now only talks to us to ask where Fred is?"

"Aurelia, I need to tell you something-"

"It can wait. We're going to be out of school in five days, and I'm going to spend three months trapped with my mum. And I need enough stamina for that, so whatever you're about to tell me can wait."

"But-"  
Fred hurried up to both of them, apologizing profusely, explaining that he'd had pressing matters on his mind, and Priscilla's dramatic reveal was forgotten as Aurelia gave her friend a relieved smile.

* * *

That evening in the Great Hall, Aurelia was met by her mother.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry I lied to you, Aura, but you have to understand that if I tell you who your family is things will never be the same for you again."

Aurelia smiled at her. "To be truthful, Mum, I missed you a lot."

Her mother leaned down and hugged her a little stiffly (Minerva had never been one for hugs) before telling her, "Meet me in my office on the last day of school, and bring Weasley and Hathaway if you wish. I'll tell you then."

Aurelia sucked in a breath, shocked, joy coursing through her.

* * *

"Of course we want to go, you prat," Fred laughed. "Don't be an Andrews."

Hearing this as she passed, Lucinda Andrews huffed and clutched her books a little tighter.

Priscilla swallowed. "Aurelia, I already-"

Aurelia grinned. "You already what?"

Then it occurred to Priscilla that Minerva should be the one to reveal it, and so she reluctantly replied, "Nothing, never mind."

* * *

The last days of school seemed to drag on and on. Aurelia wrote long and detailed stories about how she'd be reunited with her brother, and Priscilla stared out the window and imagined Aurelia's reaction, and Fred watched Aurelia glow with happiness.

But finally, the last day came, and Aurelia, Priscilla, and Fred hurried to Minerva's office, each excited and exhilarated for different reasons.

They ran the whole way, Aurelia giggling excitedly, until they all collapsed through the red-and-gold door.

Minerva was sitting at her desk, looking extremely nervous.

"Well," she began, "this will possibly change your life, my Aura, for better or for worse."

Aurelia leaned forward, her heart pumping, her face flushed with excitement.

* * *

She would forever remember that second, the second before her life spiraled off the path she'd expected to take. The second before everything she knew was tossed in the rubbish bin. Because for the longest time she wished that she could turn time back and never have to be the person she became.

* * *

"Aura, you're a Potter."

Aurelia wished later that she'd come up with something more dramatic or intelligent than "I'm a what?"

"You are Harry Potter's older sister, Lily and James' older daughter."

Aurelia sucked in a breath. This was not what she had been anticipating. She'd been expecting a nice, normal set of dead parents and a smaller brother, also dead. Not a boy who'd saved the Wizarding World and dead hero parents.

Minerva looked down. "And before they died, they brought you and all evidence that you had ever existed to me, asking me to Obliviate you if they died and tell you only when you had met Harry. They wanted you to be free of the harm that they believed-correctly, I might add-would befall them."

Aurelia reeled. "You aren't serious, Mum."

"She is," replied Priscilla. "Aurelia, I figured it out a few days ago. All the evidence points to that fact."

Fred swallowed.

Minerva looked down at her hands. "This summer, I was going to ask you if you wished to go to our summer home in Scotland, but I think you would much rather visit your brother. Mind you, I am sure that he has a loving, caring family who will not want to give him up."

Aurelia blinked. Then she asked, "Can I have my memories back?"

* * *

Minerva took out a small vial from another, smaller, locked drawer.

"Drink it," she instructed gently. "It will reverse the spell."

Aurelia took a tentative sip of the silvery stuff, and a memory revealed itself.

* * *

**I'm so evil...**

**The next chapter will be nearly all flashbacks.**

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	9. Year One: Remembering

**Yay! I wrote my veggies, now I get to write the dessert! **

**These are all flashbacks...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_"Can I have a unicorn, Uncle Moony?"_

_Remus drew Aurelia closer. "You might get trampled."_

_"So? I want a unicorn."_

_They were curled on Lily and James' couch while Lily made Remus breakfast, declaring that the best thing to cheer him up after an order mission was Aurelia._

_She was quite right._

_"All right, fair enough, I'll get you a unicorn next time I have enough Galleons."_

_"You don't have to, I changed my mind," Aurelia declared. "I want to live with you. Mummy makes me clean my room and clean up my messes. Would you make me do that, Uncle Moony?"_

_"Yes, actually." Remus was fighting to keep a straight face. It only made a situation worse to laugh at Aurelia._

_"Then I'm going to go live with Uncle Padfoot and eat all his secret candy that he says he has."_

_Remus rolled his eyes. "You do know that I love you more than Uncle Padfoot, right?"_

_"And I love you more than anyone in the whole wide world except Mummy and Daddy because they're special."_

_"I don't hold that against you."_

_"You aren't holding anything, Uncle Moony!"_

_Remus gave in and laughed, forgetting entirely that he was tired and sad and lonely. As long as Aurelia was curled in his arms telling him the most ridiculous things then everything would be all right._

* * *

_"What's that?" asked Aurelia, stretching her hand out at the fluttering blur of colors._

_"Careful, Little Lily, that's a butterfly. They're rather fragile." James lifted his daughter up so that she could better see the butterflies flying gaily around them._

_"I came up with a story last night. Do you want to hear it?"_

_"Of course, flower. Tell me." He sat down, Aurelia facing him on his lap._

_"Um...Once upon a time I went to Honeydukes with you and Mummy and Uncle Moony and Uncle Padfoot and even Uncle Wormtail and I bought a lollipop and two Chocolate Frogs and then we played in the snow and Mummy made a snow angel and that's the end," concluded Aurelia with an enormous exhale._

_James smiled lovingly. "You'll be a published author in no time, huh?"_

_"Yeah. And we can read my stories at bedtime."_

* * *

_"He's tiny, Mummy. How long will it be until he gets big like me?" asked Aurelia quietly as she peered at her new brother._

_"Quite a while, darling," replied Lily with a laugh. "Did you and Uncle Moony have a nice walk?"_

_"Yeah! We missed you and Daddy though because we saw two doggies and you would have thought they were so cute!" Aurelia clambered onto the bed and curled up next to her father, who was reclining next to Lily._

_"I have a brother, huh, Daddy?" she commented softly, burying her face in James' jacket._

_"Yes," replied James softly. "Although if he's any bit like you, we'd better all panic."_

_"Daddy!" groaned Aurelia._

_Lily smiled._

* * *

_"Why can't you get me a broomstick, Uncle Padfoot?" demanded Aurelia._

_Sirius groaned. "We've had this discussion before. You'd crack your skull open, you're too small."_

_"No I'm not!" Aurelia protested indignantly, staring up at her father and his broom. "Watch!" Before Sirius could react, she'd dashed over and grabbed his broom, climbing on and taking off._

_Lily uttered a terrified scream as Aurelia zoomed twenty, thirty feet up-_

_-before promptly falling off her broom._

_James grabbed the broom, Sirius grabbed his heart, and Aurelia fell into Remus' arms._

_"Thank you, Uncle Moony!" she laughed happily, wrapping her arms around Remus' neck. "Can I go again, Mummy?"_

_It wasn't only Lily who yelled "No!"._

* * *

_"I hate everything." Aurelia slumped dejectedly onto the couch, staring up at Remus with James Potter's hazel eyes._

_Remus nodded. "All right, I'll take a gamble here and ask why."_

_"Because today Mummy isn't making any scones because she says I always take too many and I do but that doesn't mean she has to stop making scones."_

_"Maybe I'll try and hold an intervention."_

_"I'll pretend I know what an in-ter-vehn-shun is and say thank you, all right, Uncle Moony?"_

_Remus yawned. He'd had a truly exhausting Order mission, and the Prewetts found dead like that...He shuddered involuntarily._

_"Are you cold, Uncle Moony?"_

_"No, I'm fine," Remus replied automatically._

_"Liar. I'm not fine either. I'm lonely. Mummy is too busy to talk to me anymore, and so is Daddy."_

_Remus made a mental note of this to tell Lily. "But I'm here right now."_

_"Yes, but you are utt-er-ly amazing, Uncle Moony, and so you don't count."_

_"Uncle Moony" laughed softly and held Aurelia a little closer._

* * *

_"I'm bored," Aurelia told Harry. "Like, unbelievably bored. And you just lie there staring at the ceiling like it's a Quidditch match. I wish I could do that. Can you teach me?"_

_Harry gurgled._

_"No, seriously. Are you even listening to me? I'm amazingly bored and you're my brother and Mummy said you're really funny so do something funny. Now."_

_Harry looked over at Aurelia, smiled, and went back to staring at the ceiling._

_"I think we need to trade you in," Aurelia commented. "I want a brother who isn't broken, I bet Uncle Padfoot broke you. He's good at breaking things. It's like a talent when he does it."_

_Standing near the doorframe, Lily and James held in their laughter._

* * *

_Aurelia shifted to face her mother. "What's a prophecy?"_

_Lily's face paled, but her smile remained, though a trace of sadness found its way into her green eyes. "Why do you ask, darling?"_

_"'Cause you said to Daddy today when you were putting Harry in his high chair that we needed a Secret Keeper 'cause of the prophecy. What's a prophecy?"_

_Lily sighed. "I suppose I should have told you earlier, Aura. You are remarkably bright."_

_"You're just saying that 'cause I'm your daughter."_

_Lily laughed softly. "Very well then. A bad man wants to...hurt Harry, and he might hurt me and Daddy while he's trying to. A prophecy said this, and that's how we know."_

_"Why would anyone want to hurt Harry? They must be crazy. He's the best person in the entire universe." Aurelia sighed in a way much similar to Lily's and mumbled, "Am I going to get hurt too?"_

_Lily's jaw set, as if she was making a decision, and then replied emphatically, "Not at all. Never, Aurelia."_

* * *

**And now we're going to go back to the normal story!**

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	10. Summer: Chocolate Frogs and Spoilt Milk

**Here I go updating at night again. Oh well, at least I get to wake up and see who's seen this at night.**

* * *

Aurelia stared blankly into the contents of the empty vial, wanting to go back and live with Uncle Moony and Mummy and Daddy and Uncle Padfoot for a moment.

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks (cliched but true). They were all dead. The people she had learned to love in the space of a second were all dead.

"I've decided to have us visit Harry the day after school gets out, so you won't drive me insane obsessin' over it, all right?"

Aurelia laughed softly, half of her wishing Minerva hadn't given her back the memories.

* * *

She stared up at the curtains of her four-poster bed. Now she understood.

Now she had to find him.

Because he was her Moony and she wasn't going to ever lose him again.

* * *

"I am sorry, Aurelia, but he is busy at the moment," replied Dumbledore, glancing at the calendar. Full moon. "I will, however, notify him that you wish to see him."

Aurelia sighed miserably, finally understanding the look that Moony had given her, imagining the heartbreak he must be feeling. "Please do, Professor. I really want to see him."

"I understand entirely," Dumbledore told her gently.

* * *

They ate Chocolate Frogs on the Underground, which Aurelia had convinced Minerva to ride for the "full Muggle experience" to the latter's great amusement. Aurelia ate a good deal more than Minerva, and by the time it was their stop she was looking disheveled and her Muggle coat was stained with chocolate.

Minerva sighed. "You'll just have to wear your shirt. I'll carry the coat, Aura."

Aurelia gave her mother a warm smile that greatly resembled the late Lily Potter before doffing her jacket eagerly. It was getting hotter and she really didn't want to wear a confining, cumbersome coat.

The walk to Privet Drive seemed to take an eternity. Aurelia kept on asking impatiently, "Are we there yet?" and "When are we going to get there?" and "Will Harry come with us if he wants to? I mean, I know he won't, but still…"

Minerva smirked. This was most definitely the daughter of James Potter; she had the attention span of a flea. "I shall let you know when we arrive, m'darlin."

Aurelia pulled a face and adjusted her rectangular glasses. "This is boring."

Her guardian laughed softly. "Look, Number Two Privet Drive, Aura. We're almost there."

"Thank Merlin," groaned Aurelia dramatically, sagging against Minerva. "I thought I was going to die. All that bloody walking and having to sit still and not talk about Quidditch... You know, I think I'm going to fully appreciate the beauty of a world where I'm allowed to fly on my broomstick after this. I take so much for granted."

Minerva laughed loudly.

They knocked hesitantly on the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry Potter was standing on tiptoe to reach the cheese.

"Hurry up, boy!" barked Uncle Vernon.

He winced and stretched harder, but try as he might it was impossible for him to reach. The cabinet was a good foot over his head. There came a loud rap on the door, and Harry held in a relieved sigh as Uncle Vernon hurried to the door.

"Who is it?" he demanded.

A girl's voice, maybe eleven or twelve, answered, "Excuse me, but my name is Aurelia, and I'm here to meet my brother Harry Potter."

Harry forgot all about the cheese.

* * *

Aurelia stared boldly into her uncle's face, which looked like he had just swallowed a gallon of spoilt milk.

But before he slammed the door, a little boy knocked the wind out of Aurelia in a hug.

She gasped, realizing who she was holding, and hugged her brother fiercely back.

* * *

He fit nicely in her arms. She hadn't known that he would be so loving, so sweet, so cute, his little black head buried in her shoulder and his small hands wrapped firmly around her waist.

He'd grown, of course, but it had been eight years. His hair was still fluffy and his skin still pale, but no longer was he able to fit in her arms.

Now, though, he could speak in full sentences and run and hug. Oh yes, he could hug, surprisingly well for someone so small.

She realized with a start that he loved her without even knowing her...maybe some sort of announcement she didn't know about? Maybe he'd known about her before she knew about him, and oh how jealous she was of him for that.

She pressed her lips to his hair, trying to convey to him that she loved him back and there was nothing he could do about it. He was stuck with her.

She smiled at the thought. Always she'd thought of Harry Potter as a wizarding hero, never as a small boy with amazingly jade-green eyes. Never as a small boy who loved her like hell.

* * *

Harry looked up, peered up at her through now-lopsided glasses, and asked shyly, "Can I call you Eel? I think it's a nice nickname, and are you really alive? I thought you died with our parents."

"Yes and yes," replied Aurelia with a delighted, exhilarated laugh. "I get called Aura or Aury by everyone I meet."

"Excuse me," sputtered Mr. Spoilt Milk, "but this boy is not going anywhere!"

* * *

Minerva's sharp eyes noticed that the boy was very thin, his clothing was obviously hand-me-down, and the cupboard under the stairs had an open door that revealed a bed for a rather small nine-year-old boy.

"Actually," she replied curtly, "he is."

She'd talked to Dumbledore about the blood protection spell, and it turned out that blood protection applied to Aurelia as well. So wherever Harry called home would just have to be with Aura from now on.

Aurelia smiled at Harry, who reluctantly extricated himself from his sister. "Can you get your things?"

He nodded, and ran into the cupboard under the stairs (Aurelia gave a sharp gasp when she saw the bed) before carrying out a small box.

"This is all I need," he told her softly. "I get to go with you now, right?"

"NO!" shouted Mr. Spoilt Milk furiously.

Minerva nodded and rather awkwardly extended her hand to Harry, who took it.

"Come now," she said rather quietly to Harry.

Aurelia took his other hand, squeezing it so hard that the boy could almost feel how much she loved him.

* * *

**This was super fun to write-yay!**

**So now Harry's in the mix-I know this was what everyone (the term used pretty vaguely of course, I'm not entirely sure how many people are reading and enjoying this without reviewing, hint hint) was waiting for-myself included. That section where they meet was amazingly fun to write-think I'm getting a little redundant here.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	11. Summer: Ice Cream Contests and Best Days

**Yay, another chapter I've been dying to write!**

* * *

Remus Lupin stared up at the ceiling. He lay sprawled on the floor, exhausted from the transformation of the previous night. It was at times like this that he truly missed Aurelia.

The glimpse of her at Hogwarts had been a treat, but it was painful to realize that the beautiful little girl he had so adored had no idea of who he was. And yet, and yet, something in her eyes told him that she hadn't truly forgotten him.

He got up. If anyone knew he was living in the attic of Fortescue's the shop would probably go out of business. Florean kept him under lock and key in exchange for extra help, and he was grateful for that.

* * *

It turned out that Harry knew nothing of the wizarding world, so while Minerva busily dragged her daughter and-it seemed too strange to call a boy she'd known for all of five minutes _son_, so she would just avoid the term altogether for now-Aurelia gave her brother a detailed explanation of the wizarding world while they walked to Diagon Alley for an ice cream.

After the detailed explanation, Aurelia started to complain loudly about the walking.

Harry was unsure whether she was joking until Minerva replied, "Well, maybe you shouldn't have ice cream then, hm?"

Aurelia giggled in reply, flashing Harry a wide grin which he shyly returned.

* * *

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor wasn't very crowded. Minerva bought Aurelia a vanilla ice cream, and then asked Harry stiffly what he would like. She'd never been good with small children, aside from Aurelia.

Harry stared up at her, then questioned, "Can I please have a chocolate ice cream?" The hesitance in his voice, the uncertainty that she would listen and agree, melted the hearts of both Minerva and Aurelia.

"Of course," Minerva replied, the tone of her voice suddenly softer.

Aurelia licked her ice cream, Harry observed. She had amazing self-control.

Then, rather abruptly, she took an enormous bite and shrieked, "Eek, Mum, brain freeze!" Harry snorted with laughter.

Aurelia then turned to Harry and grinned. "You want to have an ice cream race?"

Harry nodded bashfully.

"Aura, don't-"

"Ready, set, go!"

Harry won, but Aurelia denied it.

* * *

Remus descended the stairs hesitantly, and then with a jolt of his stomach he recognized her, sitting with Harry (no longer a baby) and eating ice cream.

"Yeah? I won fair and square, you...mangy cur! That's what that mental knight near North Tower always says, Tonks taught me that one."

"You're not even done yet," Harry pointed out.

"Oh, technicalities." Aurelia turned suddenly, and the way she looked at him this time, with not just a vague remembrance but with shock and relief and love, made Remus know that something had changed.

* * *

"He's here," Aurelia breathed.

"What?" replied Minerva, before realizing who the twelve-year-old was looking at so intently.

Harry stared awkwardly before mouthing "Sorry" at the man, not understanding why his sister was staring.

* * *

She hurtled towards him, and Remus opened his arms hesitantly.

He remembered, vaguely, that Lily had mentioned Aurelia's photographic memory-so she wouldn't have forgotten him.

_"Moony!"_

The word was a sob, the sob was a laugh, the laugh was joy.

He wrapped his arms around her, clutching her like a drowning man, unable to believe that he'd found her-that she'd found him.

* * *

His robes were coarse, ragged, but Aurelia didn't care that they scratched her.

Moony lifted her off her feet, and she realized that this might be how Harry had felt, how Harry was feeling right now. She wanted to remain in his arms forever, to savor meeting Moony again, but he pulled away to look at her, leaving his arms around her shoulders.

"You've grown so much." There was so much unsaid in the tenderness of the words.

"D'you like the glasses?" Aurelia asked shyly, adjusting the rectangular frames.

"To be honest, I prefer half-moon ones like Dumbledore's."

"Yes, but these are like my adopted mum's. And my hair hasn't grown that much. How are you doing, Moony?"

He smiled, and Aurelia detected a trace of bitterness in it. "Not so well, actually."

"Oh...I love you, Moony, still, and would you like an ice cream? I'll ask Mum to get you one."

He smiled again, and replied, "I'll just walk with you for now, if that's all right with you."

"I thought you'd _died_!"

The last word was a sob again, and Aurelia buried her face in his shoulder.

* * *

She'd grown up so much.

A light of intelligence in her eyes, a new little smile on her face, it was obvious to Remus that whoever raised her had raised her well.

Lightly, he kissed her forehead, then pulled away and took her hand

"I fancy spending some time with you," Aurelia mumbled, her cheeks almost the same shade as her hair as a slow smile spread across her face.

Remus smiled back.

Together, with fierce joy in their hearts, they walked toward a confused Harry and a smiling Minerva.

* * *

Minerva was remarkably perceptive, as aforementioned, which was why, while Harry and Aurelia were talking, Aurelia's hand in Remus', she asked Remus, "Would you like to stay with us for awhile? I'm certain that with your…"

She paused.

"_condition,_ our home would be wonderful, as we are right near a large forest. Aura is a Potions novice, but I'm certain with practice that she could whip up Wolfsbane Potion."

Remus glanced to see if Aurelia had heard, and she smiled at him and asked, "Will you stay with us, Moony? We have three guest rooms, and one could be yours."

Remus gave Aurelia a smile that had much less bitterness in it before replying, "Maybe for a little while."

* * *

By the time they got back to Minerva's Scotland house (which they Flooed to from the Leaky Cauldron) the sun was nearly set.

Aurelia collapsed into her favorite chair with a large yawn. "This was the best day of my entire life," she announced happily.

Remus stretched out on the couch with a rather large smile on his face.

Minerva picked up a blanket from a large basket next to the couch and draped it over Aurelia.

"Harry," she asked, "would you like to help me make hot chocolate?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and it doesn't seem like I'm rushing things...**

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	12. Summer: Hot Chocolate and Moony

**Jeez, I took forever with this! I totally suck. **

**I made some small edits to the last two chapters. If you want you can go and check them out and be all nit-picky and awesome, but they're super small and barely noticeable.**

**Also, I want your opinion in a review: Who would you like Priscilla to end up with? I have my own plans, but I'm kind of uncertain and would love some input. **

**That said, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Minerva got out a small can of cocoa powder and handed it to Harry with the instruction to "hold this for a second." He watched her with interest as she waved her wand to turn on the stove, then asked shyly, "Am I a wizard?"

A small smile danced across the older witch's face and she replied, "I do not doubt it, Harry."

"What should I call you? I mean, Aurelia calls you Mum-"

"You can call me whatever you find most comfortable."

Harry gave her an annoyed look. "That was very evasive."

Minerva laughed out loud, then answered, "How about you call me Minerva, for starters?"

"For starters," Harry echoed with an amused grin.

She waved her wand again, and some milk poured into a saucepan. Then she flicked it and turned back to Harry, hot chocolate bubbling on the stove.

"I sincerely hope you will enjoy it with us, Harry."

"Who's Moony?"

Minerva paused. "He was a friend of your father's, who your sister can remember because of her photographic memory."

"That's super cool! I wish I could have one too."

She laughed again. It was surprising how much young Harry was like his sister. She wouldn't have expected him to be so open, but then he seemed to have fallen in love with Aurelia (for many apparent reasons that, as Aura's surrogate mother, she could name) and this in itself had made him more accessible to talk to.

* * *

"So, what do you like to do now? Still like stories?"

The question jerked Aurelia out of happy dreamland. "Oh! Um, yes, I like writing stories, and reading, and I like my friends Priscilla and Fred. I met them at Hogwarts."

Remus nodded thoughtfully. She didn't seem to have changed much, aside from the ability to be able to carry on an intelligent conversation that very few three-year-olds possesed. Aurelia, of course, hand most definitely not had that ability at three.

"How about you, Moony?" asked Aurelia shyly, adjusting her glasses and sitting up, the blanket wrapped around her. "What've I missed out on in _The Chronicles Of Moony_?"

Remus snorted. "Is that a Narnia reference I detect?"

"Yes, actually, because Muggle books are immensely interesting. You've read them, then?"

He smiled warmly. "I loved them. My mother used to read them to me when I was little."

"I liked all of them, but the ending of the third one-"

"Has Harry read them? He might hear you."

"Oh. Yeah." Aurelia blushed. "Sorry. I've never been very tactful."

"Neither was your father."

"Yes. I know." This got a surprised look from Remus, which Aurelia responded to with a "Photographic memory, remember?"

"Ah."

Aurelia didn't notice, and Remus didn't intend her to, that he had subtly steered the conversation away from his personal life.

* * *

Dinner (hot chocolate and grilled cheese sandwiches eaten in the living room, which Aurelia praised happily with every enormous bite) was a pleasant affair. Harry and Aurelia talked about the utterly stupid things in life, and Minerva and Remus watched with small smiles.

Both could already see how much and how powerfully the two children loved each other. Harry mostly because of the years he'd spent longing for her, and Aurelia because of her longing for a true blood-related sibling.

Harry took a large sip of hot chocolate. Aurelia did the same. Minerva and Remus gave each other a small and awkward smile, joined only by their love for Aurelia Lily Potter.

* * *

"This is going to be your room," Aurelia announced, opening the door to a small but nice bedroom with a window overlooking an expansive yard that blended seamlessly with the woods.

Harry stared with wide green eyes. "All this? Really?"

"Mm-hmm. Mum wants to get you some proper clothes because she says that you look like you're wearing a trash bag, and-Oh, I forgot! Stay here." She sprinted out of the room and came back in (in about thirty awkward seconds of Harry standing alone in a room he was quite unfamiliar with) with a small model of a broomstick. "Isn't it neat? It's for you, you could put it on one of the shelves or something!"

Harry grinned and took the miniature Nimbus, placing it carefully on one of the many empty shelves. "Thank you, Eel."

Aurelia surprised both of them by wrapping him in a hug and mumbling, "I'm so bloody lucky to have you."

"Cool, thanks," Harry whispered happily, which made his sister giggle.

* * *

Remus closed his eyes and (he hated to use this word) snuggled (mental cringe) into the warm comforter. He'd left the window of the guest room open so the breeze outside could tickle his senses as he fell asleep. He was very conscious of the fact that the bed was obviously meant for more than one person, but shoved that thought aside. There was no hope of _that._

Far away, a girl who in six years would be an Auror tripped over her own feet and bruised her head on a dresser.

* * *

Harry yawned. He was wearing his clothing still, with a promise from Minerva to buy him some clothes on a later date.

He stared blissfully at the ceiling. His own room… This was amazing.

He got up and picked up the mini-Nimbus, closing his fist around it and climbing back into bed, wanting it to be the first thing he felt in the morning. Wanting to be able to remember how wonderful this had been, because he was certain it was a dream.

It had to be. Something as wonderful as this just couldn't be real.

* * *

Aurelia grinned at her teddy bear, who she had named Theodore Monkey Bear (Teddy M. Bear to his friends) for his immensely long arms and legs.

"I am so unbelievably happy," she told him as she combed out her hair. "I have a brother and a ...um... Moony and a mum now, not just a mum and an empty house during the school year."

She buttoned up her long pink nightgown that was dotted with broomsticks before tiptoeing downstairs and taking a handful of Chocolate Frogs the way she always did every night.

"Aurelia?"

She turned guiltily. Remus Lupin stood, his wand illuminating the dark kitchen, a small smile on his face. Without saying anything, he walked over to the jar full of Chocolate Frogs and took a small handful.

She stifled a giggle.

Remus then walked over to her and kissed her, lightly, on the top of her head with a soft "Goodnight."

In response, she leaned up and hugged him sleepily. Then, to her shock, he picked her up and carried her all the way to her bed, where he tucked her in.

"I used to do this all the time when you were little," he told her softly.

"Cool," she mumbled with a yawn.

* * *

She had very ridiculous dreams about riding on Chocolate Frogs through a sea of hot chocolate. But she was very happy throughout the entire dream.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed (immensely)!**

**Review with your comment!**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	13. Summer: Read To Me

**This chapter is pure fluff. Most of the chapters set in summer are going to be fluffy, so be prepared. :)**

* * *

Aurelia woke up in her bed.

She stretched out under the blanket until she could see her shoe-clad toes, then stared at the ceiling sleepily for thirty seconds (she counted) until she decided reluctantly that it was time for her to get up. This in itself took quite a while, and hurrying to her secret stash of only-for-the-morning Chocolate Frogs took a little while as well.

After eating what really should have been two (but wasn't) Chocolate Frogs, she got dressed and tied her hair back into a sloppy ponytail to avoid having to comb it.

Then she went downstairs with a book and went to her chair.

* * *

Harry woke up curled in a warm, soft bed.

_So it wasn't a dream, _he thought happily.

He lay there for a while, relishing in the space that was so much bigger than his cupboard, before he remembered his sister and scrambled downstairs to see if anyone was up yet.

There she was, reading a book on the chair.

He walked over to Aurelia and asked quietly, "What're you reading, Eel?"

Aurelia jumped, then giggled. "You startled me. I'm reading my favorite romance."

Harry winced, then hesitated before saying decidedly, "That's really gross."

Aurelia rolled her eyes. "Obviously you are completely blind to the charms of romance, Harry Potter."

Harry laughed softly. "Can you read to me?"

"Hang on, I'm going to get a more interesting book-"

"_Not _a picture book," said Harry emphatically.

Aurelia laughed, considerably louder than her brother. "You aren't an idiot, you're ten, so I'll read you a good book."

* * *

When Remus came downstairs, the first thing that he heard was laughter.

He stuck his head apprehensively into the living room, and saw Aurelia swatting Harry playfully. "Shut up, this is my favorite part. _She lifted the chalice to her lips, certain that-"_

"This lady is really slow at drinking an immortality potion."

"So you're saying you would be faster?"

"I'd have drank it two pages ago."

"Two pages ago she was running away from the guard dragons, Harry! Pay attention, please."

"Okay, sorry. Go on."

"_She lifted the chalice to her lips-_What now?"

"You already read that part."

"Yes, but I like starting at the beginning of a sentence."  
Harry gave Aurelia a look, and Remus (unable to contain himself any longer) burst out in peals of laughter. It was more than he'd laughed in years.

"Oh, hello, Moony!" Aurelia sounded overjoyed to see him. "Here, sit down, we're at the good part. Okay, _certain that it would lead to immortality. However, she realized with a start that-"_

"It was empty, wasn't it," groaned Harry. "Too predictable."

"Listen! _That the chalice was full of Veritaserum!_"

Harry gasped and leaned forward. "It's a trap!"

Aurelia beamed, obviously happy that her audience had reacted appropriately. "Can you read now, Moony?"

Remus took the book and continued. "_A trap! Our intrepid explorer realized who would have set this up, and sure enough the evil King of Shadows stepped out of the darkness with a-_" Remus suddenly smirked. "Typo. It should say 'villainous,' not 'villainoos.'"

Aurelia giggled. "I love how everyone sees that!"

"Keep going," protested Harry.

Remus realized that he was sitting on the couch next to Harry. When had that happened? He started again. "_-with a villainous laugh. 'So,' he cackled, 'the brave Hesper has failed to see through my trick! Now I shall have access to your deepest secrets!"_

Harry snorted. "This guy is mental. Did he not have any idea that Hesper didn't even take a sip?"

Aurelia got up and sat down on Remus' right side. "Yeah, pretty obvious to me. Keep going, Moony."

Remus stretched out on the couch, nonchalantly placing his arm around Harry's shoulder as he continued. "_Hesper smirked. As usual, intelligence was not the King's strong suit."_

Both children laughed.

"_She forced a glazed look into her usually mischievous eyes before turning to the King blankly. 'Now,' the King began, 'where is Urdo's sword of knowledge?' _

'_In the marshes,' replied Hesper in a monotone. 'You must wear nothing and dive into the marshes while chanting nursery rhymes, for only then-" _Remus paused. Now both Aurelia and Harry were doubled over in laughter at the thought of the dignified King of Shadows doing such a thing. He smiled, waited for the laughter to die down, then began again. "_-only then will the sword make itself known to you.' In truth, she had hidden the sword in another place, but she longed to see the expressions of the commoners when their King jumped naked into the pond._ So I'm guessing this fellow isn't very smart?"

Aurelia and Harry were laughing so hard that Harry had started to cough. Personally Remus didn't find the chapter very funny, but he was glad the children did.

* * *

Minerva yawned. A good sleep was always refreshing. She combed out her long silver-grey hair before pinning it into its usual bun, donning her emerald-green robes, and hurrying downstairs.

The sound of voices made her pause to listen at the doorway of the living room.

"_Hesper's wand raised tentatively, she stepped into the archway. Nothing was there but darkness. _Oh, well, goodness knows that's going to be permanent, I can't think of anything that would be hiding in darkness besides the _demons._"

Harry snorted. "Yeah, not like that's predictable."

"You two are killing my favorite book!" protested Aurelia. "Just read it without completely destroying it."

"Fine, spoilsport." Remus glanced up at the doorway and gave Minerva a surprised smile.

"Ooh, Mum, can you read it?" asked Aurelia excitedly. "Moony can't help critiquing it."

"Good word," Harry hissed to her.

"I'm a writer, it's what I do. Anyway, Mum, pretty please with five dozen specially imported cherries on top?"

Minerva laughed and sat down next to Aurelia, taking the book from a grateful Remus. "_She hesitated, holding her wand a little higher. 'Show yourself, demon!' she-_oh, for goodness sakes, that is what is called asking for trouble."

"Like when I don't clean my room even though you ask me to five times and threaten to take away my Chocolate Frog privileges?" responded Aurelia innocently.

"Aura, is your room clean?"

"Beside the point," replied Aurelia quickly, which made Remus fight a laugh. "Please con-"

"_Chocolate Frog privileges? _Since when have you had _Chocolate Frog privileges?"_

"Please keep reading, M-"

"Goodness knows _that_ wouldn't stop you from finding and eating all the Chocolate Frogs in the house! I sometimes think nothing would!"

Aurelia snatched the book from her mother with an impatient eye roll and continued. "_Hesper's wand raised tentatively, she-_what now?"

"You're repeating things again, replied Harry, leaning over Remus to flip the page impatiently. "Whoa, it's a Flame Demon? What's that?"

"Hey! Cheater?"

"As I recall, Aura," replied Minerva with an amused glance at Remus and Harry, "you skip to the end of every book that you do not want to take the time to read, so I would not be surprised that your brother is impatient."

Aurelia seemed to struggle to think of a good response before bursting out with a "Same to you!" mostly because she couldn't think of anything else.

Remus snorted. "Continue, please, Aurelia."

"Umm, _-she shouted into the murky air_ how the hell is air murky?"

"Language, Aura," Minerva chastised gently.

"Sorry, but seriously. How is air murky?"

"Well," replied Remus, "technically the word _murky _means dark and gloomy, so that might make sense."

"Dark and gloomy air? You've just proved my point, Moony."

All four laughed, and Harry realized with a thrill that this just might be the start of something new.

* * *

**So I hope you enjoyed it! Remember to tell me who you think Priscilla should end up with, because I have a crazy idea that I'm hesitant about trying for her.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	14. Summer: Overlarge Inner Tubes and Soup

**Yay, more summer fluff!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"I have my-what's the word?-_qualms_ about going on a long hike carrying a large picnic basket." Aurelia tied her hair back with a bandanna Harry tossed her before shrugging off her bathrobe. She'd taken to wearing it around the house.

"Come now, it'll be fun," Minerva encouraged them with absolutely no emotion from an easy chair in the living room.

"You," shot back Aurelia, "are not going. So you do not get to make any comments."

Remus hurried in, looking annoyed. "Have any of you seen the sandwiches? And Aurelia, did you pack your swimsuit?"

"No and yes," replied Aurelia. "Are we bringing Chocolate Frogs?"

"You and your obsession," muttered Harry with a smile. "Min helped me pack them last night."

Minerva tossed Aurelia a small bundle. "I bought Harry this, if it doesn't fit him Remus can use a Shrinking Charm. It's a swimsuit."

"Wow, I had no idea," giggled Aurelia, handing Harry the swimsuit. "Congrats, you get to carry it. I already have to carry my inner tube and my towel."

Harry nodded. "Shouldn't you get dressed?"

"_Fudge ripple!_" gasped Aurelia loudly. "I forgot! Thanks."

She raced away, leaving a laughing Harry and a bemused Remus mouthing "Fudge ripple?" to Minerva, who shrugged.

* * *

Aurelia raced upstairs and quickly doffed her pajamas (noticing with a little bit of pride her growing chest) before pulling on a training bra, a t-shirt with the Ravenclaw logo, and a pair of shorts.

She then ran back downstairs (very nearly tumbling down the steps as she did so) and shouted, "_I'm dressed!_"

"Shoes, Aura." Remus looked immensely amused.

The now-breathless redhead dashed to the door and donned a pair of black ankle socks and sneakers. "Okay, now I'm really dressed."

She dropped a kiss on her mother's cheek, then shouted very loudly, "When are we GOING, Moony?"

Remus and Minerva both winced, and Harry laughed. "Piggy-back me, Eel?"

"Oh, Merlin, no, you broke a vase last time, OUTSIDE!" shouted Minerva, but her mouth was twitching.

* * *

Aurelia and Harry ran outside with their things, waiting for Remus to finish packing.

The former dropped her backpack down and hoisted Harry onto her back, running in circles, both of them giggling madly until Aurelia very nearly ran into a tree.

Harry hopped off and helped his sister to regain balance at around the same time Remus hurried out with a large picnic basket.

"Right then, are you two done making fools of yourself?"

Harry burst out laughing. Aurelia smirked.

* * *

The hike was long and arduous and mostly uphill. Remus found it quite tiring, Aurelia found it "good practice to stay fit for Quidditch" and Harry didn't say much.

"It's really pretty," commented Aurelia, picking a five-petaled pink flower and handing it to Remus. "Do you know what this flower is, Moony? I don't."

"I have absolutely no idea, doe."

He'd taken to calling her "doe" mostly because she was Lily Potter in miniature, but with her father's round brown eyes. Lily was James' doe, and Aurelia...well...he had a feeling the Fred Weasley she talked about endlessly might come into the picture at some point.

Harry, of course, was Prongslet, called this by mostly Aurelia and, on occasion, Remus. He liked the nickname (they thought so, at least, because he smiled whenever they called him it, but then Harry never complained about anything) and answered to it.

Halfway through they stopped on the trail and ate a small snack. They were overlooking a gorgeous valley, and Harry started a game of "I Spy."

"Um, I spy with my little eye something..uh...green."

"Wow," replied Aurelia sarcastically, surveying the lush green trees and plants. "That really narrows it down, Prongslet."

Harry gave her a look.

"Okay, fine, is it that tree?"

"No."

"Is it that other tree?"

"No, Eel, it's not a tree." Harry rolled his eyes at Remus, a trick he'd most definitely gotten from Aurelia. The redhead huffed and made a face.

"This game is harder than eating ten Chocolate Frogs at the same time."

"Wait a minute." Remus turned away from the valley to look suspiciously at Aurelia. "Since when would you have eaten ten Chocolate Frogs when you're only allowed-"

"Is it the grass?" Aurelia interrupted him hastily, and Remus had to smile at the look of utter guilt on her face.

* * *

By the time they reached the large loch surrounded by deliciously green grass, all three were utterly exhausted in the best way.

"Prongslet, isn't your birthday in two weeks?" Aurelia asked as she spread the picnic blanket.

Harry, unpacking the lemonade, looked up with a shy and surprised smile. "You don't have to do anyth-"

"Course we do, ten is an important number. So is eleven, but I can't let you be twelve because I'm twelve."

Remus handed Aurelia the cloth napkins. "Here, doe. And Harry, I agree with Aurelia, I think we should do something nice for your birthday."

"Ooh, we can invite Fred and his little brother over!" gasped Aurelia excitedly. "I think he has a brother your age, Harry, and I'm certain anyone as nice as Fred would have an excellent brother."

Remus smiled. "Thoughtful of you, doe." He took out a few sandwiches.

Aurelia grinned, shouted a triumphant "Grilled cheese, I love you Moony!" and eagerly unwrapped the sandwich her...what was Moony exactly? Well, he tossed her them.

It took them an hour to get through all the picnic. They had a long conversation about the reliability of Portkeys (Harry, who had heard Minerva talking to Aurelia about them, wanted to know if any had ever malfunctioned and what had happened) and played Twenty Questions.

Finally, after thirty minutes of waiting impatiently (No, Aurelia, you can't just jump in, you'll get a cramp) Harry, Aurelia, and Remus changed quickly behind bushes into their swimsuits and jumped eagerly into the loch.

* * *

Aurelia looked utterly ridiculous with her enormous pink inner tube and the way it kept on turning over and dunking her into the cold water. Harry swam to a small grassy island about the size of a small chair and watched his sister desperately try to regain control. Eventually she just tossed it to Remus, who fell under the water when it hit him in the face.

This started a water fight of epic proportions.

"Surrender!" cried Harry from where he was filling empty lemonade glasses with lake water and throwing the water at Aurelia.

"Eek! Harry, stop! I need my inner tube!"

Remus smirked and pushed it away from him before splashing Aurelia with a huge amount of lake water.

"Aargh! I'm outnumbered by the evil boys!" Aurelia submerged herself in the water and came up about ten seconds later a good deal away from Harry and Remus.

"Catch me if you can, slowpokes!" she called triumphantly.

The lake was a circle, so Harry and Remus just stayed where they were until she swam directly into them, giggling madly.

* * *

The hike back, three hours later, was slightly less fun until Aurelia remembered that Minerva had promised them dinner when they got back. This led to a lengthy discussion on food, which was actually quite enjoyable considering the fact that all three of them were starving.

Remus, however, couldn't help but marvel at how lucky he was. He had two children to look after now, both of whom he'd thought he would never see again.

* * *

Minerva had made split pea soup, which by a lucky chance was one of Harry's favorites.

"I don't like vegetable soup normally," Aurelia told Harry. "I don't mean split pea soup, Mum!" she added hastily at her mother's annoyed look. "I mean soup with lots of vegetables in it."

Harry dipped half of his bread in the soup for longer than was necessary before taking a large bite. "Eurgh, soggy."

Remus and Minerva shared an amused smile.

* * *

**Reviews, please? **

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	15. Summer: Invitations and Floo Powder

**Yay, I'm updating! Hopefully I'll get some more reviews because frankly you people are disappointing me. Thanks a million to dream lighting for all the support! And a thank you to jthorne . student, and as always the amazing Abigail Grace Mandogirl who's been sticking with this story since the beginning.**

**Now REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! :)**

* * *

It was raining immensely the day Harry and Aurelia Potter flooed with their guardians to the Weasley house with a birthday invitation.

Aurelia had flat-out refused to send Eury with the invitation, saying that she couldn't withstand the rain and neither would the invite, so the invitation was being delivered personally.

"Remus, you take Harry," Minerva instructed. "He hasn't used Floo powder much, so you'll be careful."

Remus gave the boy a small smile which was returned with surprising intensity.

"And Aura, you'll go first. We'll be there in five minutes. Standard safety, all right?"

Aurelia nodded excitedly. "Oh, I can't wait to see Fred!" Eagerly she took a pinch of Floo powder and tossed it into the fire. As the flames turned an emerald green (Harry gasped) she stepped in and shouted, "The Burrow!"

Harry, Minerva, Remus, and the living room whirled out of existence, and Aurelia closed her eyes-

* * *

As usual, she was knocked off balance the moment she fell into the fireplace, stumbling out before tripping over her ash-covered feet.

"Who're you?" demanded a voice, and Aurelia looked up. A small redheaded boy with Fred's hair and eyes was staring at her in a rather accusatory fashion.

"Hi," replied Aurelia breathlessly, "I'm here to see-"

A pair of arms enclosed her from behind. She shrieked, turned around, and saw Fred Weasley doubled over in laughter.

"Should have seen your face!" he howled. "Hilarious! Good to see you, by the way, Aury-pie. So what brings you to our humble abode?"

Aurelia grinned and dusted off her glasses. "Actually, I'm bearing an invitation to-"

Once again she was cut off as a plump witch hurried into the living room.

"Oh dear," gasped Aurelia, a flush in her ashy cheeks, "so sorry to intrude!"

* * *

Molly Weasley stared incredulously at the lithe twelve-year-old. It was impossible, she would have remembered something like this…

But as sister of two former members of the Order of the Phoenix, she recognized the features of Lily Potter most distinctly, and although all evidence disproved this claim she had a strange feeling that this girl was Harry Potter's older sister.

"Not at all, dear, although an explanation would be lovely," replied Molly shakily, and the girl brushed ash-covered hair out of her eyes (James Potter's eyes!) and handed Fred an invitation, and suddenly it clicked.

"Why, you must be the Aurelia Fred's always going on about!" Molly gasped. "Such a pleasure to meet you, dear!"

"Thanks." The girl-Aurelia-smiled shyly at Molly with Lily's charming uncertainty and added, "Actually, I came here to invite you to my brother Harry's birthday party. It's his tenth, and it's his first birthday party because of Mister-Uncle-Spoilt-Milk-Frowny-Face-Man-"

Fred stared at her, uncomprehending.

Aurelia blushed. "Harry's been living with my aunt and uncle for eight years," she explained. "We've only recently regained custody, Mum had to do this long explaining thing to the Ministry of Magic."

"Harry Potter?" gasped Molly.

Aurelia nodded. "He'll be coming with Mum and Moony at any point now, I just thought it would be nice for Harry to make some friends-oh damn, this is utterly stupid, I should have just owled it in."

To Molly's surprise, her normally emotionally insensitive son grinned and replied softly, "No, no, it's really great to see you, Aury-pie!" and helped her brush off some of the ash.

The flames in the fireplace turned emerald, and Ron let out a loud exclamation of "How many people are there?" as three figures stumbled out. Minerva straightened up first and carefully brushed ash off the smallest person in the group. Fred was staring at them, open-mouthed.

Aurelia beamed, her teeth oddly white against her slightly gray cheeks. Then she hurried over to the group.

"Fred," she breathed, and Fred was struck by how much happier she sounded, and how her eyes seemed to sparkle (his heart sped up, goddamn gorgeous Aurelia) with a new light. "Fred, I want you to meet my family. Moony, Mum...pause for dramatic effect…"

The small boy gave a loud snort.

"And Harry."

Fred's face split into a grin as he hurried to the boy and shook his hand vigorously. Harry looked up at Fred with wide green eyes and asked, "Are you the Fred Weasley who found the Marauder's Map? The one who's Eel's best friend?"

No one noticed Remus give a little start at the mention of the Map.

Fred grinned slightly. "Happy that Aury-pie mentioned me."

"Millions of times," replied the boy solemnly.

* * *

While Minerva and Remus were having tea with Molly, Aurelia and Fred talked animatedly and Harry walked shyly up to Ron.

"Hello," he mumbled to the floor.

Ron stared at him curiously before replying shyly, "Do you want to play chess?"

Harry did. Ron beat him five times in a row, but mostly because both of them were talking to each other about inconsequential things interesting only to ten (well, almost-ten in Harry's case) year olds.

By the time of the fifth game Harry stood up, stretched, and asked, "You want to go see what Eel and Fred are up to?"

Ron nodded with a slight smile on his face.

* * *

Aurelia and Fred were talking eagerly about everything and anything and oh it's so good to see you again! when Harry and Ron entered the kitchen, where they were sitting on top of a counter.

Harry smiled up at his sister, asking, "Is Ron going to come to the party?"

Aurelia nodded happily. "You two are getting along, then?"

"Yes," Ron replied with a grin.

Harry would later find out that this was Ron's first friend who wasn't one of his brothers.

* * *

"What are you going to get him?" asked Fred once Harry had left with Ron to see the gnomes in the back garden.

Aurelia paused thoughtfully. "Do you know, I hadn't really thought about that. Maybe I'll con Mum into buying him a broomstick."

Fred laughed at this. "Aurelia Potter-the only person I know capable of manipulating the inflexible Minerva McGonagall."

His friend punched him in the shoulder. "That's my mum, you bugger."

He grinned sheepishly, noticing the way the light shone off her eyelashes and wondering how on earth people could think veela were pretty when a marvel like Aurelia Lily Potter had been unleashed on the world in 1978.

"Well," he told her, "I'd best help you find a broom then."

* * *

**I'm not going to ask you for reviews here because I kind of already did previously so I hope this chapter was to your liking :)**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	16. Summer: Midnight Teatime

**YAY fifteen chapters! Thanks for the faves, follows, and reviews, but we have a long way to go! :)**

* * *

Remus stretched out in the bed. Harry's birthday was looming and the present had been bought, but that didn't stop him from being nervous. He didn't have much experience with children, and because of the werewolf restriction laws (technically he was supposed to be Minerva's tenant) against being the guardian of any child not related to them he doubted that he ever would. There was no chance of marriage in his future.

He sat up. Maybe a cup of tea would help. It was midnight, but that just meant no one would be downstairs.

* * *

He walked tentatively down the stairs, avoiding the creaky parts to the best of his abilities and praying that he didn't accidentally stub his toe on some small object that Aurelia or Harry had left out. However, to his great surprise, a lamp was on in the living room.

Minerva was sitting in the easy chair, her hair down around the small of her back and wearing a tartan nightgown, sipping a cup of tea.

She looked utterly shocked to see him, but then he supposed that shock was mirrored in his own features.

"I'm sorry," he apologized automatically. "I just wanted a cup of tea. I figured I'd set it up-"

Minerva nodded. "Go ahead. You handled last night quite well, by the way."

"The potion helped."

She smiled over her cup of tea in an unsettlingly human way that was quite unlike the strict Transfiguration professor Remus had been taught by. "I know this is a little awkward."

Remus laughed a little sadly. "Awkward is an understatement. I'm raising a hypothetical niece and nephew-"

Minerva smirked. "Oh, Remus, I highly doubt that."

"Hmm?"

"Although we are not married (and frankly, I have no intention of marrying again) Aurelia and Harry-Harry especially-seem to see you as a father figure."

Remus groaned. "I don't want to replace James-"

"You never will, because Aurelia remembers and does not hesitate to remind Harry."

A small smile flickered across Remus' face in the dim light of the lamp. "I do love them. Immensely so, actually."

"Aura is easy to love," replied Minerva softly with a hint of pride. "And I cannot say that I love Harry as truly and utterly as Aurelia-for I have only known him for a short while-but indeed I am certain that I will eventually. He is a rare child."

"Much like his sister."

"Indeed." Minerva stood up abruptly. "Would you like me to make you some tea?"

"Yes, that would be quite nice."

"Here, follow me."

She led him into the lamp-lit kitchen, which now had a drawing stuck to the freezer.

"It's me," Minerva explained. "By Harry."

The head was about five times the size of the body, and the glasses were bigger than the head.

"Good likeness," said Remus. "Harry draws about as well as James does."

Minerva nodded. "Most of his tests came back with caricatures of Severus on it. He seemed to have a pattern of Severus dying a horrible death many different ways. Quite a vivid imagination, never the same way twice."

"Really?" snorted Remus.

Minerva smirked as she poured water into a metal teakettle that smelled slightly like crayons. "I confess, I looked most forward to grading his tests."

"I'm afraid my tests weren't as interesting."

"No, what was interesting was that Sirius Black-"

There was a sudden pause.

"I'm sorry." Minerva's face was slightly red. "Sensitive subject."

"Go on," replied Remus in a strained voice. "What about Pad-Sirius?"

"Oh, well, he always had the same answers as you." Minerva sighed. "Remus, I'm sorry. I tend to put my foot in my mouth at times."

He sighed. "It's fine, it's just...He was the last person I'd have thought would betray us. You should have seen how much he worshipped Aurelia, and how he used to take her on broom rides. Once she fell off, but she just wanted to get back on again because she loved him so much. Does she know he's in Azkaban?"

"I don't know if I want to tell her." Minerva took out a sugar bowl and some tea leaves from a cabinet. "It's so obvious she wants to know if he's alive, but she doesn't want to ask for fear that he's dead, and I just don't want her to find out that…"

She trailed off miserably, and for the first time she didn't look strict and foreboding to Remus. Now she looked like a tired old witch who found immense joy in loving and being loved by Aurelia Lily Potter.

"That someone she loved could do that," Remus finished gently.

"Yes." Minerva held up the tea leaves. "Chamomile or earl grey?"

"Mmm, chamomile. It was my mum's favorite."

"Was?"

"She-" He didn't want to say it, but it was clear Minerva understood by the way she placed her hand gently onto his.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. She had a wonderful life." This was sort of evading pity, but Remus was used to living without sympathy. He'd manage.

But Minerva rolled her eyes. "Even I wouldn't say that about my own mum, Remus. I really am sorry that she died. How long-"

"1981."

Minerva immediately understood the significance of that date and her hand slipped onto the teapot as she started. She winced slightly and swore softly with a furtive look upstairs.

"Hope they didn't hear that?" Remus whispered, glancing up with a small smile.

"It's boiling," replied Minerva in an annoyed tone. "I completely forgot. Well, your tea's ready at any rate." She picked up a potholder from a small basket and poured the chamomile tea into a teapot.

"Do you ever wish you could go back in time?" asked Remus suddenly. "Save the ones you love?"

Minerva stared into the teacup she was pouring herself and sighed. "I wish I'd never met Dougal MacGregor and I wish I'd married Elphinstone earlier. Yes, I'd love to go back in time, put Sirius Black in Azkaban."

"The funny thing is he was the last person I would have expected," muttered Remus miserably. "He was my most loyal friend."

"Traitors are usually well-planned," Minerva responded shortly, sitting down at the kitchen table and taking a sip of her tea.

Remus sighed, sitting down across from her. "Yes, unfortunately so."

"Do you remember Marlene McKinnon? She'd be devastated that Sirius turned out the way he did."

He nodded softly. "She was a brave soul."

Minerva stood up and opened the freezer door, taking out a small plate of scones and muttering an incantation Remus missed.

She handed them to him. "Go ahead. They're warm."

He took one. It tasted like one of Hagrid's rock cakes.

"It's one of Hagrid's rock cakes," Minerva explained, and Remus winced as he nearly broke a tooth on a raisin. "Aurelia can eat anything."

"She likes these?"

"Very much, actually." Minerva looked amused at the unmasked incredulity on Remus' face. "She takes after James."

"Yes, he always loved those cakes." Remus smiled. "Shouldn't be surprised that Aura does as well. She has a flair for the dramatics, just like her father."

Minerva nodded. "She can't sing to save her life, though. Really she only likes flying and writing. Endlessly. Enough to drive one mad."

They talked until about three about all sorts of things, until Remus realized that he was quite tired and reluctantly excused himself.

"Same time tomorrow?" asked Minerva, putting away the rest of the rock cakes. "It would be wonderful to carry on a conversation with someone who isn't twelve and doesn't prattle endlessly about Quidditch, though I do love that someone.":

Remus laughed. "It would be my pleasure, Minerva."

* * *

**Just to let you know, I have ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION of shipping Minerva/Remus. I respect the pairing and all, but this is neither the time nor the place...Sorry. This is purely friendship.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm.**


	17. Summer: Lamp Stands and HAP

**Hope you guys like this chapter, only one more chapter of fluff and then we'll start up the story again!**

* * *

Harry woke up on his birthday with the same feeling of happiness that overwhelmed him every morning. The bedroom was a little different now, of course. There was a stack of Chocolate Frog cards and a small pile of comics Ron had lent him on one of the shelves, and the dresser was open to reveal neatly folded clothing that had been bought new for him.

So in essence, the bedroom was more _his _now.

He sat up in bed, the new red pajamas covered in Snitches a little more wrinkled than before but otherwise all right. Then he yawned and got dressed, immensely excited about the coming party. He wasn't very fussy about what he was going to wear, so let's save the details for an epic biography which Harry would probably never want written anyway.

He ran downstairs and saw to his delight that the room was decorated with giant balloons. Aurelia, her hair tied with a ribbon decorated with balloons was busily writing on one deflated one HARRY POTTER IS TEN SO YOU'D ALL BETTER RUN FOR THE HILLS NOW but stopped on the N in NOW to give him a grin.

"Happy birthday, dear brother!" she cried cheerfully, drawing a broomstick on the balloon before blowing it up with a large helium blower. "Mum's making an epic birthday cake, and Moony's setting up the backyard. You want to help me with the balloons?"

Harry sat down next to her. "What exactly are you doing?"

"I'm not sure we have enough for outside," replied Aurelia. "I've made like thirty already-"

"Let's make ten more," he replied eagerly. "I'd love to help out."

By the time Remus came in looking like he'd walked through a confetti minefield, the entire room was filled with balloons.

"Hi, Moony!" called Aurelia. "Take some of these out to the yard with me, please? Oh, and Harry, Mum wants your cake to be a surprise, so don't look, okay?"

Harry followed them outside and stifled a laugh. The trees were covered in confetti (goodness knows how Remus managed it) and a large folding table was covered in a garish plastic tablecloth.

"Wow," he managed. "Colorful."

Remus stared at him for a moment before exploding into laughter.

Aurelia blinked. "Did I miss something? Because it didn't seem like there was anything funny in that sentence."

"It's not funny," replied Remus weakly between laughs. "I know it looks horrible, but I haven't finished yet."

He flicked his wand at the tablecloth. "Just needed something to Transfigure-you can't make something out of nothing, you know."

The tablecloth turned into a gorgeous white one embroidered with H.P and 10 around the edges.

"It'll turn back by midnight, but for now it'll be suitable." Remus smiled slightly at the look of incredulity on Harry's face at the Transfiguration. "Now, would you go ask Min for some plates?"

* * *

Minerva met them hastily at the door with a brief "What d'you want?"  
"Plates," replied Aurelia. "And no, Harry isn't going to peek at the cake. Good grief, Mum."

Minerva's shoulders visibly became less rigid as she hurried to get them some plates.

"Whoa!" shrieked Aurelia when her mother reappeared with an enormous mountain of plates. "What the hell are those for?"

Minerva laughed. "The Weasleys are coming, remember? They have a large family, and Charlie Weasley's bringing his friend Nymphadora."

Aurelia started happily. "Tonks!"

"Yes, that does happen to be her surname-"

"She helped me break into your office, I really like her!" announced Aurelia happily before groaning, face-palming, and muttering "Oh crap."

Minerva smirked. "Subtle. I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

Harry was roaring with laughter.

* * *

The Weasleys arrived by Floo, and with a few lumpy sweater-like and fudge-shaped packages. Charlie Weasley had his arm around Tonks, who had long blue hair that was utterly tangled up.

Of course, Tonks being Tonks, she fell forward and her hair caught around a lamp-stand next to the fireplace, and this made her stumble away from Charlie and knock over Remus Lupin, both of them landing on the floor. Tonks squeaked, then tried to jump up and ended up hitting herself on the forehead with the lamp.

Aurelia winced.

Remus leaned up, very carefully, staring incredulously into the eyes of the clumsy sixteen-year-old, and reached around her neck in what might have, under different circumstances, been a intimate gesture, to untangle her hair from around the lamp stand. "Are you all right, miss?"

Tonks nodded, her cheeks a flaming red. "Sorry."

Aurelia hurried over to both of them. "Oh my Merlin, Tonks, are you all right? That looked awful!"

Tonks screwed up her face, and her snarled blue hair became immensely short and purple. "There. That takes care of that, won't get tangled again. Yeah, I'm fine, thanks Aurelia." She smiled bashfully at Remus, who gave her a weak smile back.

He couldn't quite place it at that time, she was much too young, but there was _something_ about that girl…

* * *

"Ooh, this looks really excellent!" cried Fred in a falsetto. "_Dahling_, what on _earth_ did you do to the _kitchen?_"

Aurelia swatted him with a dish towel. "Shut up. I already told you, this took two hours of nonstop cleaning, and Moony and I want it to stay clean, got it?"

Fred nodded reluctantly with a sad "But I've never messed up any kitchen besides my own…"

His friend rolled her eyes, a small smile curving her lips upward. "Help me with the cake? We need to ice it, and you're like my bestest friend (you and Priscilla, that is) so you get to help."

"I'm honored," grumbled Fred, taking out a tube of red icing. "So what are we writing on it?"

"I dunno, just Happy Tenth Birthday Prongslet (aka Harry)?"

"That's too long, I dunno if it'll fit."

"Fair enough, why don't we just write HAP in big letters then?"

"Actually, I quite like that."

"Ha ha. No, seriously, Fred, what should we write on it?"

"Really, Aury-pie. It has character."

Aurelia smirked. "Character, you say?"

"Have I convinced the lily to frost the cake with a giant HAP?"

Aurelia nodded. "Yes. Yes, you have."

Fred grinned, and at Aurelia's delicate laugh he tried to calm his racing nerves and flushed cheeks. The cake was frosted with an enormous red HAP, which both Fred and Aurelia deemed amazingly neat considered they'd written it in icing.

* * *

The entire Weasley family was squished around the small table, with Harry at the head leaning over, deep in discussion with Ron about the comic books the latter had lent the former. Remus was talking politely to Tonks seeing as she was the only non-Weasley guest at the table, and Minerva and Molly were talking amiably over their sandwiches.

Aurelia hurried out, holding the cake, ten candles set in a ring around the HAP, Fred by her side with a little grin on his face.

There was an odd silence.

"Er, you do realize that his middle name is James, right?" blurted out Tonks, her cheeks a pale pink.

"No, no, it's short for Happy Birthday Prongslet (aka Harry)!" protested Aurelia indignantly. "It's Fred's idea, and Fred's brilliant." She looped her arm around Fred's neck, and instantly Remus dived for (and caught!) the gorgeously frosted cake.

Tonks giggled.

Harry smiled. "Can I blow out the candles, or is Moony going to set the table on fire after his excellent catch?"

Remus laughed, grinning at the boy who was startlingly more outgoing since his arrival at the cottage. "I'll let you blow out the candles this time, but remember that next time I get to set the table on fire."

Ginny Weasley, a fairly petite eight-nearly-nine-year-old, laughed as well.

And so it was that Harry James Potter had his second birthday party and the first one in eight years where he got to grip his sister's hand under the table and get carried up to bed by his Uncle Moony when he was exhausted from flying on his new Nimbus 2000.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	18. The End of Summer

**So YAY we've started the story up again, a little earlier than planned but whatever, I'm the authoress so I can make random changes. :)**

**Let's hope you all like this chapter!**

* * *

"Oh, this bloody sucks, I don't really want to go back to school." Aurelia was sprawled on the couch, leaning on Harry and eating out of an enormous paper sack of Chocolate Frogs.

"I don't want you to go back to school, so I see a problem here," replied Harry.

Minerva, reclining in her easy chair, sighed. "Honestly, Aura, language, and you do realize that you could just send letters to Harry and Remus via Eurydice?"

"Oh. Yeah. _Still_…"

Remus, who had borrowed Aurelia's copy of The Magician's Nephew, smiled slightly before suddenly looking up and asking, "Minerva, can I talk to you for a second?"

Minerva looked at him, startled. "All right. Harry, Aura, go play some Quidditch."

The two children jumped up (Remus quickly caught the Chocolate Frogs) and hurried out the door, chattering excitedly about the progress of the Holyhead Harpies. As soon as they were gone, Minerva turned to her friend with a quizzical expression.

"Yes?"

Remus swallowed. "The transformations...when Harry and I are alone...what do you suggest...might be the best course of action?"

Minerva gave him a sympathetic smile. "I know I would normally be away, but I think I have a solution to your problem that will enable me to look after Harry once a month or so."

* * *

"Moony and Prongslet are going to live in our old Hogsmeade house?" shrieked Aurelia so loudly that Minerva and Remus both winced. "Wicked!"

"Inside voice, Aurelia!" reproved Minerva.

"Will I get to see Honeydukes?" asked Harry eagerly.

"I'll take you there first thing," replied Remus, smiling at the look of utter bliss on Harry's face.

"Hey!" protested Aurelia indignantly. "That isn't fair, I've never been there!"

Harry grinned. "Moony and I will pick out all the best Cockroach Clusters for you, won't we Moony?"

Remus smirked at the boy. "No, we'll get her the best Acid Pops."

"Rrrr!" Aurelia flopped onto the couch in a way that had once been employed by the late James Potter (it was startling how much she acted like him sometimes) and tried unsuccessfully to stifle a grin.

"Aura, have you packed your trunk yet?" Remus reminded Aurelia, who groaned.

"Fudge ripple! Hang on, let me do that." She raced upstairs, Remus following her apprehensively. There was a loud thump, then a muffled "I'm fine!"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Accident magnet, that one. Harry, you might want to pack your things too. Remus is going to take you to Hogsmeade by way of Side-Along Apparition."

Harry nodded, then mumbled, "I can't believe that summer's really over."

Minerva gave him a small smile. "Neither can I, actually."

"Yeah, you know, I didn't think I'd have a family, I thought that I'd just be going back to awful primary school and get beat up by Dudley every day-"-here Minerva gasped softly and gripped Harry's shoulders-"-but now I'm sulking because the sister I've known for only a few months is going to a school that I didn't even know existed. It feels like I'm a different person."

Minerva nodded thoughtfully. "I know what you mean. I suddenly have to look after you and wake up in the middle of the night-"

Harry gave her a funny look, and Minerva suddenly remembered that she hadn't told him or Aurelia about her regular midnight teatime. "Well, that's another story entirely."

"I like other stories," prompted Harry.

She laughed. "Nice try, Harry, but you won't hear this one. By the way, Ron owled you a few more Martin Miggs comics, I left them on your desk."

This was the distraction she needed, and thank goodness it was true, because Harry was so immersed in Martin Miggs that he completely forgot about prodding Minerva for information.

* * *

"Why are we in King's Cross?" asked Harry, who was holding Minerva's hand (she didn't want him to get lost in the Muggle crowds) and staring with an interested expression all around him.

"This," replied Minerva, "is where we're going to take the train. Or Aura is at any rate." She glanced around, then murmured to Aurelia, "You go first with Remus, then I'll take Harry."

Aurelia beamed at Remus and took off at a run, the trolley wobbling. Eurydice gave an indignant screech and ruffled her hazel feathers.

Harry watched intently as she ran toward the wall, certain that there was more to this than met the eye.

Sure enough, Aurelia ran straight _through_ the wall, followed by Remus.

Minerva smiled fondly at the look of utter amazement on Harry's face before setting a brisk pace and half-dragging him towards the wall.

* * *

They stepped through.

* * *

Harry gasped incredulously, staring all around him. In front of him, he heard Aurelia shriek "PRISCILLA!" and tackle a girl only a few inches taller than him in a bear hug.

But wow, it was so _big!_ The scarlet engine, the students saying their goodbyes…He felt a twinge of jealousy, wishing it was his turn to go to Hogwarts.

Aurelia hurried up to them, towing the giggling blonde by the hand. "Priscilla, this is Moony and that's my brother Harry, I wrote you about them, remember?"

Priscilla gave Harry a shy smile. "Hi," she mumbled, then turned to Remus and managed a feeble jerk of her head.

"She's super shy," Aurelia explained. "Prongslet Moony, this is my best friend Priscilla."

Remus nodded, and Harry shook Priscilla's hand. She didn't seem at all like Aurelia had described her, but then Harry supposed he hadn't spent enough time with her to break the ice.

"We're going to go get seats, all right?" Aurelia let go of Priscilla's hand to give her mother a fierce hug. "See you soon!"

"See you soon," Minerva echoed, dropping a kiss on the top of Aurelia's head.

Aurelia hugged Remus next, taking a little longer, resting her cheek on his chest with a little contented smile before letting go and literally picking Harry up and swinging him around, both of them giggling madly.

She gave him a hug and smiled. "I'll write every day, okay Prongslet?"

"Every day," Harry replied. "And tell me everything."

"I promise." It felt like too soon that she had to let go, and Harry reluctantly watched her hurry up to the train with Priscilla, shouting "Let's find Fred, okay?" in a very happy voice.

Minerva gave Remus a small smile, knelt down and hugged Harry (this he hadn't been expecting but enjoyed it all the same) and Disapparated.

"She's gone to Hogsmeade," Remus explained. "Now, Harry, don't be scared, all right? We're going to Apparate, and it's going to hurt a little, but it'll be over soon."

Harry nodded nervously.

Remus scooped him up, and suddenly everything was black and painful and _I can't breathe…_

* * *

Harry was terrified that something had gone wrong, and just as he was about to suffocate entirely they were standing outside a pleasant-looking (but slightly dilapidated and deserted) old cottage.

Harry, feeling slightly dizzy, was placed gently on the ground.

"Let's get set up, shall we?" prompted Remus softly, taking Harry by the hand and leading him into the house. "I know it's a bit small, but it's only for us, only during the school year. Come Christmas we'll go back, all right?"

Harry sat down in an unfamiliar couch that had a chocolate stain on it and smiled, imagining his sister curled up on this couch as a little girl, reading a book.

"All right."

* * *

He stared out the window for about an hour at the distant shadow of Hogwarts, wondering what his sister might be up to...

* * *

**So there you are! I'm going to alternate this year between Harry and Aurelia, because I want to explore Harry further.**

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	19. Year Two: Ohmygosh Wood and the Sorting

**Hope you like this one!**

* * *

"Oh. My. Gosh," breathed Aurelia, her face pressed up against the window of the compartment. "He is the cutest young man in the entire world."

Fred snorted bitterly. "Doubt that."

Aurelia turned from where she'd been staring incredulously at fourth year Oliver Wood and gave Fred an enormous glare. "Shut up, Fred, just because you're not as cute as he is doesn't mean you have to be bitter." Priscilla, leaning on Aurelia and reading Half Magic (an old favorite of hers) frowned slightly but didn't look up.

Fred muttered something darkly but didn't respond.

"Oh, don't look so upset, Freddie-cake, it's not-" Aurelia suddenly stopped talking. Priscilla was giggling madly, the book forgotten as she struggled to regain composure.

"Freddie-cake?" she chortled almost hysterically.

"He calls me Aury-pie, I call him Freddie-cake," replied Aurelia very seriously. Priscilla's laughs were wheezes now. "Soon I'll start calling you Cilly-tart."

"Oh, god, please stop," gasped Priscilla.

"I should call Prongslet Harry-chocolate-frog, come to think of it."

Priscilla gave a little shriek of laughter before burying her face in her book. Her shoulders were visibly shaking.

Fred smirked. "I like it. Freddie-cake...I now require you to call me that all the time, okay?"

Aurelia laughed. 'Works for me. You good with that, Cilly-tart?"

Priscilla pulled her face up from Half Magic and started to laugh.

"Let's time her," Fred commented. "See how long it takes for her to calm down."

His friend nodded.

Oliver Wood turned with a strange expression on his face toward the doors, and too late Aurelia realized that Priscilla's laughter was getting louder.

The Gryffindor fourth year opened their compartment door. "Is everything all right in here?"

Aurelia made a strangled gasping noise, Priscilla laughed even louder, and Fred replied hastily, "Fine, Oliver, fine, move along!"

Wood rolled his eyes, and then asked Aurelia, "Are you planning to go out for the Quidditch team?"

Aurelia nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted me to coach you a little. What're you trying out for?"

"Chaser," replied Aurelia. "You'd know about that, then?"

"Most Keepers played Chaser at some point, helps build up our reflexes."

"Cool." Aurelia was blushing by now, and to hide it she placed her hands over her cheeks. "Um, maybe sometime on Monday? I haven't really had enough time to practice."

She shifted slightly, revealing her Nimbus 2000. It was lying behind her and Fred, and she hadn't wanted any extra attention because of it. It was attention enough that she was the sister of Harry Potter (although no one was aware of that yet, as far as she knew).

"Wicked," breathed Oliver. "A Nimbus?"

Aurelia nodded proudly. "My prized possession."

"Well, remind me to catch up with you." Oliver shook Aurelia's hand, nodded to Fred and Priscilla (the latter of whom was now swallowing great gasps of air in an effort to regain composure) and hurried out of the compartment.

"Ohmygosh Wood's cute," sighed Aurelia.

"Ohmygosh Wood?" teased Fred, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. "The name fits him."

"Shut up. He has nice hands. And nice hair. I love his eyes."

"Let me guess, his feet are nice too? And his chin? And his-"

Aurelia gave Fred a nasty look and replied, "You just wait. Someday you'll fancy someone like I do Wood and Priscilla does Diggory."

Priscilla's face flushed rose. "I do not fancy Diggory! Sure, he's the handsomest boy in our year, and he's a wonder on a broomstick, and he's really kind, and really clever, but that has nothing to do with anything!"

Fred laughed.

* * *

When they got to the station, Aurelia made sure to glance in the direction of Hogsmeade. If she squinted, she could just imagine Moony and Prongslet in the old house, Harry perched on the sofa eating a sandwich and Remus writing a long letter about every stupid little detail of the day that he was going to send to her and that she would savor lovingly…

Priscilla poked her. "Come on! We're riding in the carriages now, remember?"

Aurelia nodded, trying very hard not to miss Prongslet and Moony too much.

* * *

The carriage ride was uneventful except for the part when Aurelia nearly fell out the window staring out of the carriage and Fred had to grab her and pull her back in, trying not to blush at the close contact-fancying Aurelia was messing with his head.

Priscilla (after she'd calmed down; it's immensely scary to see your friend nearly fall out of a carriage window) found both of them immensely immature with a good deal of huffing and arrogant sniffs, but both Fred and Aurelia could see her smiling slightly.

* * *

_"Andrews, Marianne!"_

Aurelia and Priscilla sat up very abruptly in their seats. Sure enough, the girl striding confidently up to the Sorting Hat had a mousy brown ponytail and narrow eyes-much like her sister Lucinda about a year ago.

"Ick," muttered Priscilla. Aurelia nodded.

The Sorting Hat was silent for a few seconds before crying out (to the astonishment of the crowd) _"RAVENCLAW!"_

Aurelia and Priscilla stared at each other, horrified, as a shocked-looking Marianne Andrews stumbled (far less confidently) to their table.

_"Blume, Emma!"_

"This is already boring," Aurelia mumbled to Priscilla. "I mean, there aren't that many Ravenclaws that we're going to be friends with anyway."

"Yeah, that Lila Cooper is twisted. I mean, she's completely mental, did you see her face when-"

_"HUFFLEPUFF!"_

"Oh, great, another Puff, same house as darling Cedric."

"Shut up! At least I don't fancy a bloke two years older than me!"

_"Chang, Cho!"_

"Who says I fancy Oliver?"

"_He's cute, oh Priscilla I fancy him_, any of that ring a bell?"

"You can't prove anyth-"

_"RAVENCLAW!"_

"Of course I can, I sleep one bed down from you and I know you hide your diary under that loose floorboard. Ooh, Cho, that's a pretty name!"

Aurelia rolled her eyes at her friend's complete lack of concentration on their playful banter before turning back to the Sorting. "How did you know where I-"

"You're not very quiet when you're putting it away."

She glared at Priscilla, then glared at the Sorting Hat. "Hurry up, you bloody hat, I'm hungry."

"Oh, like that's a surprise, you're always hungry."

_"Collins, Marceline!"_

"Didn't you say that there was a Marceline Collins at your school, Cilly?"

"Ooh, yes! I think that's her!"

"Wow, weird coincidence."

"Yeah, you think she's going to recognize me?"

"I doubt it. You got uglier this summer."

"Oh, shut up. You're the one with the Rapunzel hair."

"Who the bloody hell is Rapunzel?"

_"GRYFFINDOR!"_

"This is where your mum would say _Language, Aura_ if she could hear how much you swear. And Rapunzel's a princess from a Muggle fairy tale. She has super long hair."

"What-my hair only grew about an inch! It's not fair. If anyone has long hair, it's you with your annoyingly amazing hair."

_"Dagworth, Bruno!"_

Priscilla laughed. "Thanks, Aurelia."

"I missed you, Cilly."

"I missed you too, Aury. Now stop being mushy or I'll hex you to Ireland."

Aurelia beamed.

* * *

**So next chapter we'll go back to Harry, and I'll be alternating between perspectives for this whole year.**

**Reviews are appreciated, as always.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	20. Harry: Honeydukes and Letters From Eel

**This is pure fluff, but still enjoyable I hope...**

* * *

Harry blinked sleepily. The comforting tartan bedspread and his glow-in-the-dark ceiling that he'd painted two weeks before Eel had left were gone, replaced by an unfamiliar room that he was hopeful he'd grow to love.

He sighed. He wished that he didn't have to miss Eel, and he wished she was tackling him in a hug the way she did on some mornings where he slept in.

She was amazing. Better than he'd expected of a sister in his wildest dreams.

He got up, halfheartedly ran a comb through his hair (which was a futile effort but he did it anyway), yawned lazily, and got dressed slowly, not bothering to unpack his trunk but simply picking clothing randomly from the top.

Then he walked dejectedly downstairs.

No one was there, and he wasn't surprised. Moony wasn't much of an early riser, but Aurelia had been.

He groaned. "She's not dead," he told himself stubbornly, sitting down on the couch. "She's just away. And you need to stop acting like she's dead."

He got up off the couch and rested his chin on the windowsill, staring out at the distant silhouette of the castle through the misty morning fog. Maybe Eel would send him a letter today?

Then he remembered that his trunk was still packed, and went up to his new room to unpack it in the hopes of entertaining himself.

It was tedious work, but it distracted Harry for about an hour until a sleepy Remus Lupin, wearing a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, stumbled tiredly into his room and mumbled something unintelligible.

"Sorry?" Harry replied with a frown, placing his Circe card atop his new dresser.

" 'M going to go make breakfast," Remus repeated a little more clearly. "I'll let you know when it's ready."

Harry nodded. "Sure, thanks Moony."

Thirty minutes later, Harry walked downstairs and stretched out on the couch with _Hester Prime: The Final Battle_. It was an okay book, but he wished that Min was here to read it with him.

He pulled a face and tossed the book to the floor before walking into the kitchen to see what Remus was up to.

* * *

Remus was cooking scrambled eggs and boiling a pot of tea. He was also wearing a frilly apron that looked as if it might have once belonged to Aurelia. The Chocolate Frog stains were a dead giveaway.

At the sound of Harry flopping into a chair, he looked up with a smile.

"Ah, Harry. What would you like for breakfast?"

Harry shrugged.

"Little Doe promised to write you, Harry, so I wouldn't be too upset if I were you."

He shrugged again.

Remus suddenly grinned widely. "Do you want me to walk you to Honeydukes?"

Harry stared at him with awed green eyes. "_Before breakfast?"_ he uttered in a scandalized (yet happy) tone.

"I daresay the Dursleys didn't give you that many sweets, so it's time we made up for that. Come on, we're both dressed, and I'll let you wear my magic coat…" Remus wheedled lightly.

"A magic coat?" asked Harry eagerly, jumping out of his seat. "What does it do?"

"You can hold as much as you want in it," Remus told him. "Come now. Let's get you something scrumptious."

* * *

Hogsmeade viewed from Remus' shoulders (Harry was quite small for ten, and Remus, being a werewolf, was stronger than most) was an altogether immensely pleasant experience. Harry told his guardian in a very loud voice all about the clouds and their different shapes, and Remus enjoyed the sound of Harry's voice and the little squeak he made whenever his carrier shifted slightly.

They reached Honeydukes in immensely good spirits, and Remus put Harry down at the door, half because their combined height would be hard to enter through the doorframe with and half because he wanted to see Harry's reaction to all the sweets.

Harry's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. "Wow…"

Most definitely a satisfactory reaction.

* * *

It took Harry thirty minutes to decide on what he wanted to have, but eventually he settled for a package of Peppermint Toads for him and Sugar Quills for Aurelia, who had complained over the summer of getting hungry in class.

Remus bought some Every Flavor Beans that he decided to put in the old Chocolate Frog jar. He preferred Every Flavor Beans over Chocolate Frogs, to be honest, and since they were living so close to Honeydukes it was evident that they would be visiting frequently, if just to enjoy the look on Harry's face.

While they were walking home, Harry ate most of his Peppermint Toads. Remus noticed that he was looking slightly displeased with himself, and set out to rectify that..

"Barely anyone has self-control around Honeydukes sweets," he told Harry gently. "I remember my old friend Peter-" His voice caught, but he managed to continue. "My old friend Peter Pettigrew, from school, always ate all his sweets before he'd gotten back to the castle."

Harry grinned.

* * *

They spent the rest of the day working on unpacking things and decorating. Both Remus and Harry had no interest whatsoever, so they made sure to leave the rooms with a little space for when Aurelia came home and wanted to redecorate.

At about two, when they were sitting down to eat lunch, Eurydice came with a letter.

"Eury!" Harry yelled triumphantly, unlatching the dining room window so that the brown owl could flutter in.

* * *

The letter read as follows:

_Dear Prongslet, Moony, or Both:_

_I really have nothing to write, unfortunately, because it's only the first day of school and there isn't even much homework. I was considering procrastinating until there was actually something for me to write about, but I really miss you and wanted to write you something, even if it's just idiotic ramblings._

_Priscilla is doing well in class of course, she's really quite amazing (I say this with honesty and a hint of jealousy, if I could only get her Charms grades maybe I'd be doing a little better) at everything she sets her mind to except of course Quidditch-she's mightily afraid of heights._

_Here, she just frowned over my letter and told me to tell you that my earlier statement isn't quite true, she's good at every school subject. Not everything she sets her mind to, she says, because if that was true she'd be a brilliant tap dancer. Ooh, and she took tap lessons from ages seven through nine until she slipped off the stage at a recital and broke her collarbone-her little sister Netta was in tears and yet she was perfectly calm throughout the whole thing. _

_Fred got his sixth detention of the day and we've only been at school for a few hours-it's really rather impressive. He deserves a medal, I think. His mum already sent him a Howler and (because Fred has no shame at all, which can be good and bad at the same time) he figured out a way to charm it so that it got even louder. Some people fainted, and Mum was furious. That was the reason for four of the detentions, actually. Although I think the Howler was related to something he'd done before he left school, some prank he pulled on Ginny or something. I was deaf for about two hours so I wasn't really clear. He apologized five times (I think, all I could see was his mouth moving) which was very sweet of him. _

_How are you doing? If you went anywhere I haven't been I demand souvenirs. Really impressive ones that will make that priss Andrews (Priscilla wants me to rethink that insult, she says it sounds too much like her name) all right, Silly Tart Hathaway, (Yes, I have decided to call you Silly with an S instead of a C, don't you dare make that gesture at me, that is hardly appropriate for the lunch table) I will call her an annoying prat, happy? Anyway, I'd like a souvenir that will make that annoying prat (happy, Silly?) Andrews faint or something. And get concussed when she cracks her head on the floor and falls down some flight of stairs._

_Just kidding. Chocolate Frogs would be nice. Or something scrumptius from Honeydukes. Hang on, Priscilla's informed me that scrumptious has an "o" in it. Damn her and her brilliance._

_Love you loads. Mum sends her love too. And she also wants me to let Moony know that under no circumstances is he to spoil Prongslet. (Personally, I think we did rather a good job of it over the summer, but whatever floats her boat.)_

_Love you, I don't care that I already said it, I am prepared to be redundant, and I miss you ever so much-_

_Aurelia aka Doe aka Aury aka Aura aka Aury-Pie aka Eel_

* * *

Harry laughed. "D'you think she'll sign all her letters like this?"

Remus smiled, glad to see that the little boy he was learning (surprisingly fast) to love had stopped missing Aura for at least a little while.

Harry set to work on his letter while munching happily on his grilled cheese sandwich.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	21. Year Two: French Priscilla and Waltzes

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Aurelia lay on the grass, utterly exhausted. "Can we stop now?"

Oliver gave her a critical look that made her cringe. "So you're telling me that you're tired?"

"No, no!" She backtracked, jumping up and brushing some dirt off her broomstick. "It's Saturday, Oliver, and we've been training for four hours."

"You need some improvement in your technique."

"That's what you said four hours ago!" she protested indignantly. "And my Herbology homework's due Monday, Oliver, _pleas_e," she added.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. But I expect you to practice. You have potential, and if I were you I wouldn't waste it. Mind you, if you actually get onto the team I'm going to stop training you."

"Because you don't want to mess up Gryffindor's chances of winning the cup," Aurelia droned in an irritated voice. She'd heard this many times before. "I know, I know. D'you mind if I just fly around the pitch once? You don't have to supervise me or anything."

Oliver nodded. "I'll put the Quaffle away."

He hurried off the pitch, and Aurelia mounted her broom and flew.

Her eyes were half-closed from exhaustion and overexertion, and more than once she nearly slipped off the broom. But finally she grew tired of the wind in her face and pulled the broom to the ground in a soft landing.

She stumbled dazedly to the weeping willow tree under which Fred and Priscilla were reclining (both had been watching with smiles and cheering her on for two hours, and for the other two they gave up and played Twenty Questions) and promptly collapsed into Priscilla's lap.

Priscilla attempted to give Aurelia a stern look, but failed miserably. "Get off, Aurelia. I need these legs to run away from Fred when he's in one of his moods."

"Thanks a lot," Fred scoffed faux- indignantly. "I'll keep that in mind when you need help running away from Andrews."

"If you would just share that stupid map," Aurelia retorted playfully, scooting away from Priscilla to lie sprawled under the tree, "we wouldn't have any issues. By the way, did you get your Charms test back yet?"

"Oh, um, uh," hedged Priscilla.

Fred made a face. "Her and her evil perfect grades. I shall have to murder you, Miss Hathaway."

Priscilla laughed. "Je dois vous dire que je suis assez difficile a tuer!"

Then she gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth. Fred and Aurelia stared at her with bemused looks.

"Was that...French?" Aurelia asked hesitantly.

Frantically, Priscilla shook her head and replied, "No! No, it isn't French, it isn't! I-"

She looked like she was about to burst into miserable tears. Hesitantly, Fred asked, "What's wrong?"

Priscilla got up and hurried away, towards the castle. Her shoulders were shaking slightly.

"What," asked Fred with an utterly confused expression on his face, "was that all about?"

Aurelia shrugged helplessly.

* * *

"I don't know why she's so upset," Aurelia finished miserably. "She didn't talk to me when I entered the dorm, it's like she's afraid of something."

She took another generous handful of Ginger Newts.

Minerva adjusted her spectacles with a small frown. "I have no idea why Priscilla would be acting this way. It seems most unlike her, at least from what I have seen of her. Perhaps you might do better asking Harry for advice."

"Why?" replied Aurelia curiously. "I love Prongslet, but...what would he know about this?"

"The facts you have told me sound like one who suffers from emotional trauma," Minerva told her. "And although I would hate to think that such a sweet girl would suffer abuse, I have a feeling she was once mocked for speaking French."

Aurelia nodded thoughtfully. "And that would explain why she was so upset when it slipped out. I still don't remember what she said, though. Je dos...voo...something of other."

"Je dois vous?" Minerva echoed. "That would mean 'I owe you'. I'm pretty sure you've forgotten some of it."

"You know French?"

"My friend Patience was quite adept," replied Minerva. "Don't look so shocked, Aura, I did once have a life before you-" -_although it was emptier_, she finished silently and affectionately.

"You're the best, Mum, thanks a million and five!" cried Aurelia. "But I'll write Harry anyhow."

As the excitable young witch exited, Minerva wondered lovingly why one would need to add five to a million.

* * *

Aurelia sealed the letter and hurried towards the Owlery. If she wanted it to get there in time for an answer from Harry by this evening, she needed to be prompt.

"Eury?" she called when she was halfway up the winding staircase. The owl had amazing hearing, and she wanted to give her pet some advance warning.

To her great surprise, Eurydice swooped down from the rafters and snatched her letter impatiently.

Aurelia rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do know I've been sending a lot of mail to Prongslet, but you don't have to get all huffy and think that this one's for him too."

The owl gave her a look.

"Okay, fine, it's for Harry, make your face, that isn't going to change anything." Aurelia dropped a kiss on her owl's feathered head, turning because Eury had landed on her shoulder. "Be safe, all right?"

Eurydice hooted impatiently.

Aurelia giggled and hung out the window, watching the brown owl become a dot in the misty gray sky.

* * *

She was in high spirits for the rest of the day, trying to talk to Priscilla five times during History of Magic before giving up and whispering to Fred, "Try standing on your desk and singing 'A Cauldron Full Of Hot, Strong Love' really loud."

"And how in the name of Merlin am I supposed to do that without getting a detention? You do it."

Aurelia giggled rather sadly. "I wish. Mum would kill me, and then she'd reincarnate me to kill me again. Besides, didn't you say you were trying to set a record for most detentions?"

Fred grinned and stood up on his desk.

Professor Binns didn't even look up from his notes.

The class burst into peals of startled laughter, Aurelia and Priscilla among them, the laughs growing louder as George stood up with him.

"Twins do everything together, don't they?" Aurelia giggled to Priscilla, hoping that her plan might work. "That's why I asked Fred to-"

"And he listened?" gasped Priscilla. "Mon Dieu! The idiot, he'll get at least a dozen detentions for this-"

She abruptly stopped, realizing what she'd slipped, and Aurelia hissed to her, "Don't you dare turn your back on me, Priscilla Jeanne-"

_"Oh, come and stir my cauldron, _

_And if you do it right,_

_I'll boil you up some hot strong love _

_To keep you warm tonight!_" Fred and George sang together in high falsettos.

"I don't care if you can speak French, don't you get it?" breathed Aurelia, who was now trying desperately hard not to laugh at the expression on Professor Binns' face. He actually looked mildly interested.

Priscilla sighed. "I'm just...I used to speak only French when I was five, and lots of older kids would make fun of me because I moved to Britain a few months before and didn't know any English."

Aurelia felt a twist in her stomach. "I'm so sorry. You know I'd never make fun of anyone, I'd only help them."

"I know that now." Priscilla managed a small smile and took Aurelia's hand. "I know that now."

George pivoted on his heel, and suddenly pulled Priscilla onto the desk with him and began to waltz. Priscilla laughed shyly and followed his lead.

Aurelia grinned, and hopped onto Fred's desk.

"Come on, loverboy," she teased, flipping her red hair out of her eyes (now it tickled her shoulder blades, and she was ever so thankful for that) and accidentally knocking her glasses off. "Eek!"

Fred laughed and began to twirl her around randomly. It was evident that he, unlike George (who was actually doing a fair job of dancing with Priscilla) had no idea what he was doing. "Let's do this, then," he whispered to peals of laughter before breaking into song again.

All four of them got a week of detention.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	22. Harry: Full Moon and Great Expectations

**Look at that! I've written so many chapters there's a scroll bar! This is a record for me...**

**90 reviews and 67 follows? I love you guys.**

**That said, enjoy! I did my best to make this one as long as possible.**

* * *

_So, in short, that's why I'm going to be spending the rest of the week in detention. Now to wrap things up: I love you, Prongsy, even if you didn't send me enormous amounts of Chocolate Frogs. You are forgiven graciously._

_Love,_

_Aurelia aka Doe aka Aury aka Aura aka Aury-Pie aka Eel_

* * *

Harry laughed. "Moony, she figured out the Priscilla thing!"

"Excellent," replied Remus' hoarse voice from the kitchen. "It's your turn to write her this week, I think."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Do you want to watch the full moon with me tomorrow?"

Remus came in with a flask of smoking potion clutched in a shaking hand. "I'm feeling off-color, actually, Harry. Tomorrow I'll be needing some undisturbed rest, all right?"

"Okay," Harry responded as his guardian downed the potion. "What's that for?"

"Min sent it to me," Remus answered concisely in a tone that clearly stated Harry would be getting no more explanation than that. "Soup is on the table. It's tomato-the grocer was out of peas."

Harry nodded. "I like tomato," he stated cheerfully, which made Remus smile.

Dinner, as always, was a lovely affair. Harry talked and Remus listened, and this made both of them very happy. Harry was happy because the Dursleys had never listened to him like Moony did, and Remus was happy because his Harry (goodness, what would his life be like without Harry and his little doe? He could barely remember what it had been like before the overwhelming happiness) was talking animatedly.

"Use the napkin, Prongslet," he reprimanded gently once or twice, but other than that everything went fairly smoothly.

Harry wrote while he ate:

* * *

_Dear Eel,_

_I'm glad everything worked out. What are detentions like in Hogwarts? Moony says that they're different every time, but I'd like a more recent account._

* * *

Remus huffed dramatically as he read this. "I am not that old, Harry," he teased lightly.

Harry laughed.

* * *

_I bet Priscilla is going to go out with George. Only you told me that she fancies Cedric? What's being in love like? It seems awfully confusing to me._

_Moony is feeling slightly under the weather so we aren't going to watch the full moon together. That's too bad. But it's really okay because I've been spending loads of time with him._

_Zonko's is bloody brilliant (I blame you for my constant swearing, although I try to keep my naughty word count down with Moony even though he doesn't mind it too much) and I will at some point buy things for you and Fred with my pocket money and send you stuff._

_Next month, when we get enough lumber, Moony and I are going to build a tree house. Muggle-style, not with wands. We're going to buy a sofa for it too, so you and I can hang out there and maybe have sleepovers._

_Moony taught me how to build things, and I want to learn how to carve but he says that I might cut myself and he doesn't want to risk it. I understand, but I'm still sulking. Which means I'll need a detailed account of everything going on at Hogwarts while I sulk, because I have nothing better to do. I wish I was there with you._

_I love you, I love you, I love you, and I'll say this five more times if it'll convince you to smuggle me there next year. Oh, I'm going next year, never mind. I'd erase that but I don't have an ink eraser. Damn it. And I blame you for that swear word as well._

_Love,_

_Harry (Prongslet)_

* * *

He added a little caricature of a deer with glasses and a scar and messy ink hair that made Remus splutter a little on his tea when he tried to hold back a laugh.

* * *

That night Harry lay in his bed and reflected on the many ways his life had changed since he had found Aurelia and Min. Sure, he didn't see either of them often, but he had long and detailed letters from Aurelia and occasional concise ones from Min (Deputy Headmistress was a difficult job and he didn't hold it against her that oftentimes she couldn't write him) and that was most definitely enough for him.

He stared up at the ceiling and shifted to his side, yawning as the cool pillow brushed against his cheek, and made a mental note to ask Aurelia for a photo in his next letter to her. It was nearly October, and he wanted to know if she'd grown at all-silly but true.

* * *

Remus was up early the next day, feeling stressed and nervous. He was afraid of what the full moon would bring, and even though he was taking the potion according to Minerva's detailed instructions, even though she had told him in her letter that if he followed her directions he would be able to be in the same house as Harry without hurting him, he was still agonizingly worried that he would kill the boy.

His hands shook slightly as he poured Harry's milk, and the perceptive young child noticed and told him, "I can manage on my own, Moony. You want to go lie down?"

The sincerity and sweetness of Harry's tone, and the way his green eyes widened in a concerned manner that reminded Remus of Lily, touched the werewolf's heart.

"Oh, it's all right Prongslet. I'm fine."

Harry rolled his eyes impatiently. "No, Moony, you're not."

"_Don't give me that crap, Remus, I know you're worried about the transformation." Lily glared at him, but there was a hint of concern in her almond-shaped green eyes. "You aren't going to hurt anything or anyone, all right?"_

"_Lils, it isn't that simple." The sixteen-year-old ran a hand through his reddish-brown hair sadly. _

"_I sure as hell don't see why. You're in the Shrieking Shack, all the doors are locked, you're perfectly safe. You'll be fine, you hear me Remus?" Her face was gentle and open, and Remus felt an explosion of love for this girl who, after finding out his secret, still loved him as one might a brother._

"You," breathed Remus, turning to a startled-looking Harry, "are so much like your mother at times."

Harry grinned, taking the statement (correctly) as an enormous compliment.

* * *

They spent the day roaming around the woods behind the Shrieking Shack looking for pine cones and sticks to add to Harry's collection of odd knickknacks, which he had perched on his dresser. Harry found one enormous one half as tall as him that Remus let him carry around the village before quietly convincing him to leave it outside the front door. It looked ridiculous and lonely there, reclining next to the door, so Harry spent about two hours trying to find another one. He had no luck. Remus found it adorable.

But then, everything about Harry was easy to find adorable.

When they finally returned home, it was nearing sunset, and Remus made sure to take a large sip of the remnants of Wolfsbane Potion before telling Harry, "I need to be alone, in my room, for the rest of the night. Please, _please, _do not come in, no matter what is going on, unless your life is threatened, do you understand?"

Harry, looking utterly bemused, nodded slowly.

Remus smiled weakly. "Good. Excellent. This is nothing that you have done, I just take a little time to myself once every month and it is immensely important that I am not disturbed." He gave Harry a loving hug (the action startled both of them slightly) and hurried up to his room, leaving a small boy with a joyous grin staring happily up the stairs.

* * *

The full moon appeared on the night sky, and a horrible terror filled Remus as he felt the painful transformation begin. He was following Minerva's instructions diligently, but he still had many nagging worries. Would the room not be able to contain him? Would he run downstairs? Would he find Harry? Would he kill Harry? Would he wake above the child's dead body? Would they send a letter to Minerva and Aurelia? Would Aurelia hate him? Would Minerva ever forgive him? Wasn't this against Ministry law? Would he get sent to Azkaban after killing Harry? Would he be in the same cell as Sirius? Would Sirius have gone completely insane? Would-

He blinked. In his worried frenzy, he had completely failed to notice that he had already transformed into a wolf, and most definitely kept his right mind.

Practically swimming in his now-overlarge clothing, Remus padded over to the bookshelf, pawing at a copy of _Great Expectations_. If he had his right mind, at least he could occupy himself for a fell with a loud thump that could clearly be heard from downstairs.

He swore loudly, only it came out as a loud bark. Then he realized what he'd done and clamped a paw over his mouth. If he had seen the way he looked, he might have laughed.

Hoping against hope that Harry hadn't heard the thump or the bark, Remus pawed at the book until the front cover very nearly ripped off. He groaned slightly, except it came out as a whine. A clearly audible whine.

Oh crap.

* * *

Harry looked up from _Hester Prime_. While sitting next to the stairs, he had distinctly heard a few noises from Moony's room, and one of them had sounded like a thump.

"Moony?" he called up the stairs uncertainly.

No answer.

His heart pounding, Harry scrambled halfway up the stairs-and then remembered what Remus had said.

_But he could be seriously hurt! Or dying! Why would he have fallen?_

Making his decision, Harry ran the rest of the way up the stairs and flung the door open.

A wolf, dressed in Remus' clothes, with Remus' green eyes, was standing (well, not technically, since wolves have four legs, but Harry could think of no better way to describe it), frozen, on the floor of the room.

"Moony?" called Harry again, trying to make sense of the entire thing.

To his immense surprise, the wolf started barking loudly at him, not in an aggressive way, but almost as if it was telling him off. It looked very upset, and once or twice it stomped its paw on the floor. Then it began to pace, still barking.

Harry stared incredulously at it, sitting on the floor to watch it circle him furiously, barking at him angrily. Was this regular behavior for a wolf?

And then, suddenly, he understood.

"Sorry, Moony," he mumbled to the wolf. "I didn't know-I mean-I thought you were hurt."

The wolf stopped pacing and let out a few soft yelps in the tone Remus used when he was replying, "Oh...well...that's quite all right."

"Here, are you having issues with the pages?" Harry glanced toward _Great Expectations_. "I'll read to you."

The wolf nodded and sat down, curling around him. He was like an enormous furry pillow.

Harry flipped to the first page. "Um..._My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip." _

The wolf nodded, prompting him to continue.

* * *

Remus was stunned by how accepting Harry was of the situation. Even if the child _hadn't _followed direct instructions, some good had evidently come of it. He'd have to explain the entire werewolf situation to him later, but it was still lovely to lie here listening to Harry read and not having to worry about killing anyone.

"_The shape of the letters on my father's, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair_," Harry continued, and Remus smiled slightly.

* * *

**Reviews are appreciated, because we're nearing 100! I was never expecting this many when I started... :)**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	23. Year Two: Notes From Detention

**So this chapter is going to be a little different from previous ones because it takes the form of the notes passed in detention.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Normal: Aurelia

**Bold: Fred**

_Italic: Priscilla_

Underlined: George

* * *

_Mon Dieu, I've never been in detention before! This is all your fault, Aurelia._

Shut it. Just shut it. I really don't need this right now. I should be out practicing. Quidditch trials are in two weeks! Not to mention that

**Well, I like it. Detention, that is, not Quidditch trials. Personally, I find all of this rather **

There you go, a taste of your own medicine. If you grab the paper from me ever again I will hex your eyebrows off.

**You don't even know how to do that!**

_She'll learn. She holds a grudge._

Thank you for supporting me! ...I think.

_Oh, no. I'm not supporting you at all. I'm neutral._

What are you doing? We're supposed to be cataloguing library books!

Since when were you one to follow the rules, George?

Touche. But seriously, I don't want my mum to get mad at me.

_Ooh, wow, really devilish, he doesn't want his mum to get mad at him. Isn't that hilarious?_

Not really. I understand scary mums.

**I would think so. McGonagall hardly ever smiles.**

You need to look at her eyes. She smiles with her eyes and not her mouth. She says it makes her seem more threatening.

That was really useful information. Thank you.

_Yeah, she's brilliant._

Me? HA! That's a good one!

**Would you stop laughing? Madam Pince is going to come in again if you don't shut up!**

_And you're scared of her?_

**Sod off, Priscilla.**

_Oh my god, he's scared of the librarian._

No way, Fred. No bleeding way.

Hah, I'm not surprised.

**She's scary! She's got these creepy eyes that follow you wherever you go!**

Hmm, maybe, and this is just a wild guess, but maybe she's mad at you because Quidditch Through the Ages was due two weeks ago?

**Three, actually.**

I rest my case.

**Yeah, but what about the fact that she smells like cat?**

I bet that's because she's secretly snogging Filch and he smells like cat.

_Damn it, George, why did you plant that image in my head? Why? That's all I'm going to see when I close my eyes at night._

My work here is done.

That's not nice, George, you've upset Priscilla. Oh, see? Now she's going to the girls' bathroom to vomit. Come to think of it, I might as well. Eww, Pince and Filch? Who warped your mind?

I blame Fred.

**Hey!**

Yes, everything is usually Fred's fault.

**That had better be sarcasm, Aurelia…**

No. No, it's not sarcasm.

**Damn you.**

You're welcome. :)

**Did you just draw a smiley face on the parchment?**

No, Fred, you do not have permission to criticize my drawing techniques.

Drawing techniques my arse. That is the worst drawn smiley face I have seen in my entire life, and that counts the stuff Fred's drawn.

_I'm back! I mean, obviously, but I wanted to make it official._

**Excellent! Did-HEY WHAT DO YOU MEAN "THAT COUNTS THE STUFF FRED'S DRAWN"?**

If you can't tell, I am sinisterly smirking right now.

_Is "sinisterly" even a word?_

We're in a library, idiots, let me go look it up.

Well, now it's become a word because I used it.

_Your logic is lacking._

**It always is.**

HEY!

**And thus did the heroic Fred Gideon Weasley respond to his enemy-slash-twin brother's evil jab at his artistic abilities by parrying and thrusting (whatever that means) and saying that George Fabian Weasley's logic was lacking with a sinister**

_Oh, now I see why you were taking so long with the parchment. Carry on._

**Thank you. And don't grab from me. Anyhow, he said in a heroic voice (that was also very deep because it went with his gorgeous features) "It always is," and George crumpled to the ground, defeated.**

Good god, are we having a Fred Weasley Is The Best Thing Ever Day?

**You can never have too many.**

You're an idiot. And Priscilla, apparently "sinisterly" is a word.

HA!

_So you're into using capitals now? Ha! would have been sufficient, you know._

Oh, shut up.

_No. No I will not._

Hey, stop copying me!

_Excuse me?_

Earlier I wrote "No, no it's not sarcasm," and you COPIED me! Plagiarism!

_Mon Dieu, you are an idiot._

Why do you say "Mon Dieu" all the time?

_It means "god" in French. Did you_

**You are NOT, I repeat NOT allowed to hog the parchment.**

I second the motion.

We were NOT hogging it!

_Now who's plagiarizing?_

Shut up.

_I am pretty sure that that was written earlier, Aurelia._

Wipe that smirk off your face!

You and Priscilla are much more interesting than I thought.

Did you mean for that to come off as lecherous?

**What does lecherous mean?**

_We're in a library, Fred, look it up._

Again with the plagiarism!

_Shut up, shut up, shut up._

And here you are plagiarizing me again!

_Didn't you plagiarize that phrase yourself?_

Shut up.

_Now who's plagiarizing?_

You said that already.

**Why do you always hog the parchment? And George, yeah, that did come off as lecherous.**

What does lecherous mean?

Oh for Merlin's sake…

_Look it up, idiot!_

**Are you and Aurelia in a habit of plagiarizing each other?**

**Stop staring at each other with that expression. You know it's true.**

Damn you, Fred Weasley.

**Does this mean we aren't getting married?**

Why would you ask that?

**I asked you last year.**

Oh! No, we aren't getting married.

**I'm heartbroken over here.**

_That sounds like a Beatles song title._

Who are the Beatles?

_You haven't heard of them? No way!_

They're a Muggle band, aren't they.

_Yes, and that period should have been a question mark._

Why do you have to be so nit-picky all the time?

_Because that's the way life is._

That is what is called an evasive answer.

_Yay, you're learning! :)_

Now THAT was a high-quality smiley face.

_What?_

Read the top of the paper.

_Oh. That is possibly the stupidest thing I have ever read._

**If we weren't in detention and I didn't want to risk the wrath of Madam Pince I would take a bow.**

_I'll keep that in mind._

Note to self: Fred made a hypothetical bow for immense stupidity.

**Thank you. You are truly an Aurelia among Aurelias.**

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

**Is that stupider than the smiley-face argument?**

_Completely._

Utterly.

Stupid.

_Haha, we made a sentence!_

You just ruined the mood.

There was a mood? What mood was it? Was it happy? Sad?

Your stupidity is mind-blowing.

Hmph.

_Why is everyone instuling/insulting everyone else?_

Because it's fun-Hey! You made a spelling error and crossed it out!

Ha, now you're blushing.

_It's super easy to make a grammatical error, shut up._

Again with the plagiarism.

**All of you are making my head hurt. Can we start a new piece of parchment?**

No. I like this one. Oi, George, want to eat breakfast on the grounds with us?

_Wait, did you just_

Yes.

**Why would you**

Because I want to give it a go. So George, what do you say?

...Yeah, sure. Let's give it a go, then.

_Excellent!_

Yay! :)

**Again with the horribly drawn smiley faces.**

Shut up.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	24. Harry: Tonks and Brelly the Umbrella

**Ohmygosh I'M SO AWFUL FOR NOT UPDATING! I really really wanted to, but there were lots of unfortunate circumstances and stuff that kept me away from the computer...Hopefully now that it's summer and I'm out of school I'll be able to update more, because there's so much I plan to write about for Aurelia. **

**I'd recommend going back and rereading everything, because I've added a chapter and edited a lot of things. However, nothing's changed so much that you wouldn't understand this chapter, so I hope you enjoy! This one's been in the works for a LOOOONG time. :)**

* * *

_Darlingest Prongslet and my Full Moony, I have three words for you:_

_Oh, my, and great glory goodness!_

_Heh, that's more than three words._

_I have loads and loads of excellent news, beginning with this: Guess who just made Ravenclaw Chaser? And no, Harry-Chocolate-Frog (don't ask about the nickname, just accept it) it isn't Priscilla. She's much too busy making three sets of notes for History of Magic because Fred and I are lazy little buggers. Yes. That is a hint for someone who is reading over the shoulder of said lazy little bugger when they should really really help by making History of Magic notes. And don't give me that look, Silly-tart. Anyway, I made Chaser! And I'm over the moon (no pun intended) with joy._

_I've sent a photo that my lovely friend George (second piece of good news, yay, he's linked the groups officially, which is really nice because Alicia Spinnet is turning out to be a wonder) took after tryouts of me and Fred trying to fly on the same broom. It's a right laugh. No worries, Moony, nobody got hurt except for George, and that was only because he was laughing so hard after he took the picture that he fell down and cracked his head on one of the goalposts and got a concussion. Of course, after he regained consciousness, he thought that his concussion was hilarious as well. He is just as lovably idiotic as his brother, and yes, I am putting that in to annoy him because he is reading over my shoulder as well._

_My birthday's coming, you wonderful people, and will flattery get me a new quill or a Hester Prime book? Because if it will, let me know so I can shower you both with praise. I am not above stooping to such low heights. Damn it, I think I wrote that wrong. I'm kind of confused now, but oh well. Ooh, and an ink eraser would be nice too. Wink wink nudge nudge._

_I love you both, immensely so, and chin up! Mum's asking Professor Dumbledore if she can take a vacation this Christmas to be with us, and it's already been decided that I'm allowed to go. If Mum's not coming for the whole vacation I might just have to ask Professor Dumbledore if you can come here… Goodness knows that's what Harry would probably prefer though._

_Lovve Damn this quill and its inability to erase! That said,_

_Love,_

_Aurelia_

* * *

"She's coming for Christmas!" Harry shouted triumphantly. "Moony, did you hear that?"

Remus laughed. "Did she make Chaser?"

It was raining that day, rain that hit the windows, and Eury had arrived bedraggled. Evidently Aurelia had sent her owl out right before the rain started, because it was near lunch and the letter smelled faintly of marmalade. Remus was toweling down the owl in the corner, only half listening to Harry read the letter aloud.

"Of course she did, weren't you paying attention? Here, look at this-" Harry held up a photo of Aurelia and Fred on a zigzagging broom that flew in and out of the picture. Both of them were trying to steer it, causing it to veer dangerously. Priscilla was visible in the background, jumping up and down and watching the broom excitedly.

Remus winced. "I do wish that she would be more careful."

"It's your turn to write her, you can tell her that," Harry responded cheerfully.

Then, to both of their surprise, came a hesitant knock at the door.

"Aurelia!" shouted Harry, and before Remus could explain that only third years could visit Hogsmeade, that he knew no one, that Harry was _not going to answer that door,_ the boy had slipped past and raced down the hallway, wrenching the door open.

To both of their surprise, Nymphadora Tonks stumbled inside.

She hadn't realized whose house she was in, and staring at her feet she gasped, "So sorry...to...intrude, but I...got lost...and I don't know...the way...back...to the...castle."

"Hello," mumbled Harry shyly. "Didn't you come to my birthday party?"

Tonks looked up, shocked, and then laughed tiredly. "Oh Merlin, I didn't realize! Wow, just my utterly excellent luck. Do you mind if I stay here till the rain dies down?"

Remus nodded. "I'll send an owl to Dumbledore."

He hurried out of the room with a small smile. The sixteen-year-old was simply adorable to him with her clumsy sweetness.

When he re-entered the room the girl was sprawled on the couch, snoring softly.

Remus laughed. "She's a charming one, isn't she Harry?"

His boy frowned. "Yeah, not the chatty type is she?"

"Damnit, I am not asleep, stop judging me," mumbled Tonks sleepily, turning over onto her stomach.

Remus laughed again, startled. "My apologies, Miss Tonks. Professor McGonagall will be stopping by to bring you up to the castle." At this, Harry grinned widely. He hadn't seen Min in a while and was certain that she was only using this as an excuse to see him and Remus. "Actually," continued Remus casually, "she seems to be bringing along her daughter, who is desperate to get out of the-"

"YES!" shouted Harry, punching the air.

Remus shared an amused glance with Tonks, who laughed softly.

* * *

Minerva showed up about ten minutes before the rain died down, under a lacy pink umbrella and tightly gripping Aurelia's hand.

"PRONGSY!" shrieked Aurelia, breaking free of her mother and launching onto Harry in a dripping-wet hug. "The umbrella had a hole in it, total bugger umbrella, I named it Brelly actually, ohmyMerlin you're so TALL now!"

Minerva gave Remus a small smile with her eyes before turning to Harry. "Aura, there's more than one person who wants to say hello to Harry."

"I'm not saying _hello _to him, I'm _strangling _him, there's a difference." Aurelia let go of a beaming Harry and tackled Remus, who seemed overjoyed to see her.

Minerva laughed and walked over to Harry, smoothing his hair. "You look happy."

"Ouch, Moony, I'm the one doing the strangling!" came an indignant voice from Remus' arms, and Aurelia pulled her face out revealing corduroy lines. Tonks snorted.

"Mm hm." Harry hugged her, not seeing the look of pleased surprise flit across the Transfiguration professor's face, before letting go and saying, "Can you stay for awhile?"

"We can stay for about an hour, if Miss Tonks doesn't-"

"Please Tonks please Tonks please Tonks please?" Aurelia bounced up and down gaily on the balls of her feet, her hair bouncing with her. She looked a lot like Lily Evans in that moment, and it made Remus and Minerva both gasp softly.

Tonks laughed shyly. "I don't mind." She'd been in weirder circumstances.

* * *

Remus was amazed at how wonderful it was to see his Aura again-it seemed as if the letters had only made him closer to her. He still loved her as strongly as he had when she was a little girl on his knee-if anything, more so. That's why he and Lily had been such good friends. They never stopped loving someone close to them, no matter how much time went by.

In fact, Remus had a strong suspicion that Aurelia had inherited that trait from her mother.

Aurelia pulled away from him completely now, a smile stretching across her face in a decidedly Lilyish way. "So, what horrible mischief did you and Prongslet get up to while I was gone?"

"Blew up a few houses, you know the drill," replied Remus nonchalantly, reveling in Aurelia's shout of laughter. "No worries, we can do the biggest house together over the summer, I've already rigged it and everything."

Aurelia grinned even wider. "Yeah, that works. Only I'll have to invite Fred over. Are you aware that my birthday is coming up?"

"I most certainly am, and I'm planning to get you a lovely pair of socks made of Eury's hairballs."

"Hey! Those are gross!" Aurelia faux-pouted before breaking into a smile. "No, seriously."

Remus laughed. "Seriously, I have something excellent planned, but I'll be damned if I'm going to tell you it before your birthday."

Minerva, who was talking animatedly to Harry (it was almost scary how much all of them were changing, Remus reflected happily) coughed in the middle of a sentence. The cough sounded suspiciously like "Language". Remus flushed, but continued to smile.

It was utterly wonderful to see his doe again.

Even if she was trying to wheedle her birthday present out of Remus, and was not even remotely close to succeeding.

* * *

They had a small snack which consisted mainly of ridiculously unhealthy foods before Minerva decided that Aurelia would _not _be having any more Chocolate Frogs and announced that they had best be going with a hint of reluctance.

Harry too was very reluctant to say goodbye to Aurelia at the end of the hour, but did so with less gloominess when Minerva pointed out that they'd be seeing each other in two months anyway.

"Bye, Prongslet!" Aurelia gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Write me lots of letters, okay?"

Harry nodded eagerly, wondering how his life got so blissfully amazing.


	25. Year Two: Backwards Goals and Periods

**Ohmygosh Wood, I actually AM quicker during summer-yay! But then again yesterday's chapter had been under careful scrutiny for a LOOONG time.**

**That said, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Aurelia's stomach was doing flip-flops.

"I can't eat, I can't breathe, I can't believe I'm going to play a real game of Quidditch," she mumbled, staring at her plate. They were eating on the grounds, as was their habit, since the Gryffindors couldn't eat at the Ravenclaw table and vice versa. Fred and George were talking animatedly, Lee was flirting playfully with Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet was drawing a tactical sketch of a Quidditch pitch for Oliver Wood.

Priscilla placed a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine. Great, actually, because you're an excellent Chaser." She took a bite of Aurelia's pancake, and Aurelia noticed the midnight blue nail polish on her friend's fingers.

"Is that new?"

"Maman sent it to me a few days ago, actually," replied Priscilla proudly. "It's called _Ciel Nocturne_. French for _blue sky._ Like it?"

"Love it!" Aurelia was slightly relieved to change the topic from Quidditch, to distract the awful feelings in her stomach.

* * *

Her uniform was new and soft to the touch, with MCGONAGALL printed on the back in bold letters. She wished that it could've said Potter, but Madam Hooch (who had no idea whatsoever of her parentage) had found this an odd request and flatly refused.

"You look great," encouraged Roger Davies, who was wearing his robes already. "But you'll look better with the uniform on, McGonagall." He mounted his broom and flew into the field.

Aurelia nodded distantly. Her cramps were getting worse. Gently, she pulled the robes over her head and jumped onto her Nimbus.

"Davies, Chambers, McGonagall-"

Aurelia could barely hear what the commentator was saying, so elated was she to be on the field. All her nerves vanished at the breeze's gentle tickle on her face.

This was her home.

Priscilla yelled "You can do it!" from the teachers' box, and the other Ravenclaws looked critically at the two second years. Would they really be able to do anything for the team?

* * *

Aurelia hovered nervously, uncertain of what to do. The Gryffindors had made five goals and the Ravenclaws three. They needed to make three goals so that they could pull ahead.

"And Angelina Johnson takes the Quaffle! She's flying ten feet, twenty-"

Aurelia's eyes narrowed and she flew straight at Angelina. Her friend stared incredulously before attempting to swerve, but Aurelia was on her tail. She rammed into Angelina, not very hard, just hard enough to make the Gryffindor drop the Quaffle into Roger's arms, from where he flew over to score. Aurelia grinned broadly, and the Ravenclaws whooped.

Aurelia then noticed Fred flying over.

"You all right?" he asked nervously.

"Honestly, Fred, I'm fine. Now move. I think Roger has the Quaffle." Aurelia tried to swerve around Fred, but he continued to block her.

"No can do, Aury-pie. You see-" -Fred dodged a Bludger- "-it is my responsibility to make sure that you don't score."

"Get the bloody hell out of my way!"

"Ah, profanity. Music to my ears."

"I am going to kill you, Fred Gideon Weasley!"

"Fair enough."

Aurelia finally managed to get him away from her by steering her broom backwards rather rashly. Fred swore loudly and shot after her, but she was off with an exhilarated giggle.

"Davies passes to McGonagall-what does she think she's doing!"

Aurelia flew straight up, clutching the Quaffle, and then flew straight behind the goalposts, tossing it through so that it hit a bemused Oliver (who had turned to watch her) in the stomach.

"YES!" shouted Aurelia, punching the air as the Ravenclaw side erupted into cheers.

Fred stared at her from the other side of the field, his mouth half-open. What kind of girl would do something as rash and clever as that?

"She is utterly amazing," he commented to Wood, who still looked sort of stunned.

Ravenclaw won 260-160, even though Charlie had caught the Snitch. Aurelia had inspired the Ravenclaw team, and although she didn't make all of the goals, she made a good deal of them. She was mobbed by excited Ravenclaws and carried (along with a pleased-looking Roger Davies) to the common room; this was the first game that they'd won in decades.

Fred and Priscilla both grinned tiredly before hurrying towards their tree and slumping down underneath it. Quidditch was an exhausting business.

* * *

Aurelia's stomach really hurt.

_Really really hurt._

Reluctantly, she excused herself from the party to go use the bathroom. If she wanted convenience she'd have to use Myrtle's (it was fairly close to the common room) but she had some degree of sense and decided to head down to the girls' bathroom on the fifth floor.

However, in the bathroom she was met with a surprise.

* * *

"...Mum?"

"Yes, darlin'?" Minerva looked up from the essays on Switching Spells and adjusted her spectacles. "What is it?"

Aurelia was standing awkwardly in the doorway with an expression between nervousness and delight. She looked like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to say it.

"Mmigotmypriod," Aurelia finally forced out in a breath.

There was a silence of about five seconds before Minerva replied "What?" in an utterly bemused tone.

Aurelia took an enormous breath. "Mum, I...I got my period."

Minerva blinked, blinked again, and then asked awkwardly, "Well, erm, what d'you need?"

"A pad would be nice," mumbled Aurelia a little sadly, because she would have loved it if her mum had been excited. Had said something awful like "Darlin', you're a woman now" that would have made her cringe and smile at the same time. But Minerva had never done well with communicating things like that, and it was too much for Aurelia to expect her too. They were of two different generations, after all.

* * *

"You _did?_" gasped Priscilla, which made Aurelia feel slightly better. "Mon Dieu, it's not fair. I always knew I'd be the last girl."

"Lila hasn't gotten her period either," Aurelia told her encouragingly. "And I'm almost thirteen, so you'd think that I would have gotten it earlier."

"Yeah, but I got it later than _you._"

"Oh, sod off, Hathaway." Aurelia ran the comb through Priscilla's hair. "Your polish is chipped, you want me to fix it in the morning?"

"Ooh, that would be sweet of you. Thanks so much."

"Yeah, well, I'm already combing your bloody hair because you hate combs."

Priscilla snorted, a snort which turned into a yelp as Aurelia yanked slightly on her hair. "I do not hate combs! I just can't comb my hair. It's long, and my maman used to comb it for me. That's all."

Aurelia smirked. "Potato potahto."

* * *

**Reviews? **

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	26. Harry: Tree Houses and Hesitant Dads

**Okay, first off I'd like to thank my wonderful new beta, ****_flawsmadebeautiful, _****who is an amazing help. Not to mention that this chapter would have had WAY too many misplaced commas without her.**

**Thanks so much!**

**This chapter I hope that you'll extra enjoy, because we strived to make it as perfect as possible.**

* * *

"I-can't-wrap-this!" burst out Harry, trying to shake the present off his fingers. Somehow he had managed to tape it to his hand.

Remus looked up from his birthday letter to Aurelia and forced down a laugh. "Come over here, Prongslet. Let me see if I can help you with that."

"Is there such a thing as evil tape?" Harry asked curiously. "I would think that, us living in the wizarding world, we'd have it in abundance."

Remus burst out laughing, harder than he had laughed in years, before wrapping Harry in a hug and telling him, "I'll wrap the present. Do you want to go play outside?"

Harry nodded. "Can you get this off my hand?"

Remus tapped the tape strips covering the wrapping paper with his wand. Then he asked bemusedly, "How did you manage to do that? It's rather impressive."

"I'm not good at wrapping," Harry replied. "I tried to wrap stuff at the Dursleys', for Dudley's parties, and I couldn't really do much. I got yelled at a lot." His voice was very soft now, as if he wanted to stop talking but also wished for at least that fact to be known by Remus.

The box clattered noisily to the floor as Remus finished undoing the tape strips.

"Are we only getting Aurelia an ink eraser and a quill?" asked Harry.

Remus shook his head. "I'm getting her a Quidditch strategy book and a book of creative writing exercises. She's quite multitalented, that girl."

Harry shook his head. "Liking to write and playing Quidditch doesn't exactly count as 'multitalented', Moony."

"Fair enough." Remus gave Harry a small smile before asking, "Do you want to help me build that treehouse? It's getting along, but if we want it to be done before Christmas we need to work a little harder."

Harry nodded eagerly, and ran after Remus to the backyard.

* * *

Remus could scarcely remember a time when Harry hadn't been there blundering and laughing and playing now. He was growing fond of the boy-_no_, he thought emphatically, _I am starting to love him._

And who wouldn't love someone as playful and sweet as Harry if tasked with the job of being his guardian? It was evident Aurelia did, but Aurelia had a heart that could hold love for the world.

And Harry...Harry was marvelous.

Harry was amazing.

Harry, this boy who Remus was technically not even supposed to be raising, this boy who really was supposed to be with Minerva right now, this boy who he would shatter and destroy and desecrate every rule on the planet for, this boy who was someone that he loved immensely.

* * *

They hurried outside to the treehouse. It was coming along, but the rope ladder and telescope hadn't been attached yet. Not to mention the fact that they still hadn't made a swing.

"Prongslet, I have a task for you to do." Remus handed Harry the money bag and a two-way mirror, which he had taught the boy how to use two days ago. "Can I trust you to go get some rope for the swing? We already have enough lumber. And don't stop by Honeydukes, okay? You need to be prompt."

"Sure!" replied Harry eagerly, taking the money bag and hurrying away down the garden path. Remus watched him go and hoped that he wouldn't get into too much trouble.

* * *

After thirty minutes, Remus became mildly worried, but trusted that Harry would be back reasonably soon. Perhaps he had run into unforeseen complications?

After an hour, Remus started to get nervous, checking the path every five seconds, glancing up at every creak to see if it was the creak of the gate opening. He tried the two-way mirror, but all he got was the inside of Harry's money bag.

And when Harry showed up an hour and twenty-two minutes after he left, clutching sweets from Honeydukes, the rope from the hardware store, and a butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks, Remus was frantic with worry.

* * *

"Hi, Moony!" came Harry's cheerful voice, and Remus tackled him in a hug, holding the startled boy against him as if he was a treasure.

"Where were you?" Remus then demanded, letting go of Harry abruptly. And then he saw the bag and the butterbeer.

Harry stared down at them as if he'd never seen them before in his life before glancing up at Remus with a frightened expression.

Remus glared back angrily. "I told you not to go to Honeydukes! We need to be done with this as soon as we-Harry James Potter, did you go to the Three Broomsticks?"

"We-ell," hedged Harry, shuffling his feet, "it looked really nice in there, and it was warm, so-"

And then Remus lost it completely, for the first time since he had seen Harry that day in Florean Fortescue's.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was, Harry? I called your mirror so many times and you never answered! Never! And you directly disobeyed me! I made sure to tell you to be prompt, and you went off on a little joy ride, didn't you? Are you aware that these expenses come directly out of Minerva's pocket? I have no idea what she'll think of me, letting you go off like that! Harry, I was under the impression that you were a responsible and obedient boy, but I believe I was mistaken! How do you think I felt, trying to call you and getting no answer? You could have been dead and I would have had no idea! Two more minutes and I would have looked for you and where would I have found you? In the Three Broomsticks, no doubt, in a bar full of strangers who could have kidnapped you and sold you to a hag or-or someone shifty! Harry, I..."

This went on for a long while until Remus finally sat down and stared angrily at a softly crying Harry Potter.

"I love you, Harry," he said angrily, yet with so much fierce honesty that it made Harry cry harder, because never, never, never had Remus said that to him before. "I love you so, so much. And I don't want you to get hurt. I gave you very clear instructions that I expected you to follow and I need you to face the consequences-"

Harry flung himself onto Remus, sobbing.

Very gently, Remus wrapped his arms around the boy and whispered into his ear, "Do you think you learned your lesson, Prongslet?"

At the return of his nickname, Harry smiled weakly, because he knew now that it was going to be all right.

"I-I think I did," he mumbled softly. "I think I did."

Remus scooped Harry up and carried him to his bedroom, where he tucked his boy in. Shoes and all. He pressed a light kiss to Harry's forehead, and realized suddenly just how much and how powerfully he loved James Potter's young son.

Just as much as he loved Aurelia.

And as he exited the room, as he flipped off the lamp that Harry had left on, he heard it. Barely a whisper, almost a sigh.

"I love you too, Dad."

Remus started. This was something he hadn't anticipated. Because no matter how much he loved Harry, he wasn't willing to take the place of James. Not now, and not ever.

And so he did the only thing that he could think of doing.

* * *

_Dear Minerva,_

_I am writing to you because of a pressing matter that has occurred_

He crumpled it up. Too formal.

_Dear Minerva,_

_Harry called me "dad" today. What should I do?_

Sounded like the letters his mum used to write to that Muggle advice columnist.

_Dear Minerva,_

_Aaaaargh._

That one wouldn't work either.

_Minerva,_

_I need some advice._

All right, this one seemed to be off to a good start. Remus dipped his quill into some more ink, tapped it once on the side of the inkwell, and continued.

_Today when I was putting Harry to bed, he called me "dad" instead of "Moony". I would love to be thought of as his father under any other circumstances, but I don't want to take the place of James. What do you think I should do?_

_Sincerly_

Remus groaned at his misspelled word and realized that Aurelia's request for an ink eraser had been quite intelligent.

He painstakingly copied the whole thing onto a new piece of paper before sending it with a

_Sincerely,_

_Remus_

and going up to bed.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**Aaagh! Almost forgot to tell you-I just started on the prequel to No, Seriously. You should really check out the first chapter and see what you think.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	27. Year Two: Joseph Thatcher and Snowballs

**Eek, I nearly forgot the Author's Note! Ah well. Thanks again to _flawsmadebeautiful _for her aid, and I hope that you all enjoy this chapter thoroughly! I did. A lot. I think you'll see why.**

* * *

Aurelia's birthday had come and gone, and Christmas was fast approaching. Priscilla had made plans to visit her grandparents in France with her little sister, Antoinette (Netta for short) and Fred was going to his family.

"Ahh, this is the life," she sighed one afternoon when their group was walking down to the snowy grounds for a snowball fight. "Nearing the end of the term, minimal homework, and less likely for Fred to get detention because it's mid-December."

Fred rolled his eyes, annoyed. "I resent that. I have a talent of being able to get many detentions. Amazing amounts of detentions, actually."

Angelina Johnson giggled very loudly at this, which made Fred glance at Aurelia to see if she was jealous. Aurelia, however, was staring incredulously at Hagrid.

"Oi, Hagrid!" she called, waving. "Is that a-"

"Yep, Aurelia, an' I'd appreciate it if yeh kept it quiet, hear?" replied Hagrid hastily. "Got 'im off a Greek bloke I met at the Three Broomsticks."

Aurelia winced, then responded, "In the spirit of Christmas I'll keep quiet as long as it doesn't bite your arm off!"

"Thanks, Aurelia! Yer a righ' good sport, yeh are!"

"I doubt that," Aurelia muttered in an undertone. "If 'good sport' means 'keeping my friends safe', I'm failing miserably on that front."

"Why?" asked Alicia curiously.

"That's a three-headed dog," groaned Aurelia. "Hagrid has a knack for getting into trouble with animals, and yet he goes and gets a _three-headed dog. _Bloody hell, I have to write my brother about this."

Priscilla laughed softly from where she was staring at her toes fixedly. Lately she hadn't much contributed to conversations , and Aurelia suspected that it was due to Cedric's new girlfriend, Jean, a pretty little Hufflepuff girl in their year. It wasn't anything kissy (if that was the word; Aurelia was unsure) but they held hands a lot and walked in the halls together.

And Jean had these enormous brown eyes that blinked up at you like she wanted you to be her rescuer. Not to mention that she had hair even longer than Priscilla's.

"Hi, Ced!" called Aurelia across the grounds, waving frantically before stepping straight into a patch of ice and nearly falling down. Priscilla grabbed her arm in a rescue attempt and lunged forward with her by accident.

Both girls came up spluttering and covered in snow. Priscilla groaned and fell back into the snow puddle in an attempt to hide her face. Lee Jordan mistook this for unconsciousness and cried out dramatically, "PRISCILLA, I'LL SAVE YOU!" before yanking her to her feet.

Priscilla shrieked in horrified embarrassment.

Aurelia, who was now covered in snow and resembled a marshmallow with glasses, giggled before standing up a little dazedly with Fred and Alicia's help.

"Come on!" Angelina exclaimed impatiently before getting hit in the back of the head with a snowball.

Aurelia stared angrily at the small group of Slytherins surrounding them.

"We didn't appreciate that Bludger to Flint's head at the Slytherin-Gryffindor match, Weasley," sneered Lucinda Andrews, stepping forward. "That goes for you too, Johnson, and even the reserve."

"The reserve," Alicia bristled angrily. Aurelia frowned. Personally, she thought Flint had been lucky George hadn't killed him. The Chaser had thrown the Quaffle at Oliver Wood's head (at that point she'd nearly fainted) and hit the mark, but thankfully didn't knock Oliver off his broom.

"Anyway, here's where we get our revenge," Lucinda threw a snowball at Fred.

Aurelia, forcing a slightly bored look to her face, threw her hand in front of Fred. The snowball sent icy tingles through her palm as it splattered to the ground.

"Ah, what a shame. Taking sides, are we?" commented one of the Slytherin boys. "And here we were considering letting the little Ravenclaws fly away safe."

"Liars," muttered Aurelia before bending down and scooping up a snowball.

"Now, now, now," teased a Slytherin boy, "that wouldn't be very-"

Nobody ever found out what it wouldn't be, because Priscilla breathed "Glacius" and a passing Gryffindor was suddenly encased in a block of ice.

There were gasps, but Priscilla very quickly added "Incendio," melting the ice. Aurelia, who was losing patience with the entire situation, groaned slightly and wished that Priscilla had had better aim.

"I'm t-t-terribly s-sorry," she stuttered shyly, her slight fear of good-looking boys that she didn't know too well resurfacing. "W-would you l-like to c-come to the Gr-great Hall with me for some h-hot ch-ch-chocolate?"

There was utter bemusement in the Gryffindor boy's eyes before he replied "Sure," a little shyly.

"Oh, well, nice choice, Thatcher," snapped one of the boys. "Did you know that she's a Mudblood?"

This caused an uproar. Fred, George, and Angelina began hurling snowballs furiously at the Slytherins, Aurelia and Alicia cast the Freezing Charm on anyone wearing a green-and-silver scarf, and Priscilla grabbed the hand of the Gryffindor on some wild and crazy impulse.

"Um, this is rather sudden," he whispered with a nervous glance at the Slytherins.

"Come on, before we both get in trouble!" replied Priscilla. (Actually, because of her shyness, there was a lot more stuttering and very nervous eye blinks, but she had _meant _to say that.)

The Gryffindor frowned slightly, then replied "All right," and ran after her to the Great Hall.

* * *

"I got a week of detention," groaned Aurelia. "_And _I have to promise never to use a Freezing Charm on anyone again."

She and Fred were lying under a blanket under the Christmas tree, their shoulders barely touching. It wasn't actually romantic at all-they were hiding from the angry Slytherins. And under the blanket, there was cold stone floor, so really it was horribly uncomfortable.

"It was fitting," Fred encouraged jokingly. "You know, freezing? In winter? Geddit?"

"I hate you so, so much right now. Couldn't you have not thrown your bat at Flint? Couldn't you have done something more subtle?"

"Meh. They would have noticed anyway," Fred handed Aurelia a wrapped present. "Open it when you get to your house, okay? Or on Christmas, but I know you can't wait that long."

"Knowing Moony he'll probably make me wait whether I want to or not."

Fred grinned slightly. "True. What did your mum say he wrote her about again?"

"Oh, something about Harry calling him 'dad' and how he needed advice. I think she wrote him back and told him that being called 'dad' doesn't automatically make you the father, and that no one can take away the love Harry holds for James."

"Ah. Okay," Fred turned his head slightly so he could look at Aurelia. "Did you know that-"

But his voice caught. He'd thought it would be the perfect moment to admit that he fancied her, to admit that he thought she was beautiful, but he just couldn't bring himself to be rejected right before Christmas.

"That what?"

"Nothing. I forgot. Um, d'you think the others are okay?"

"Ha, I doubt it, unless they've cleverly hidden like us." Aurelia grinned at him and Fred tried to grin back.

* * *

Priscilla, meanwhile, was sitting and talking with the Gryffindor, who was proving to be an utterly awful conversationalist. He was sitting there and staring at her as he drank his hot chocolate. Priscilla suddenly noticed that he had a whipped cream mustache.

"Um...you've got s-something right about…" She gestured to her upper lip.

He took a cloth napkin and wiped off the whipped cream, his jade-green eyes staring at her almost unblinkingly.

And then Priscilla spilled her hot chocolate all over her front. She yelped and jumped up, wringing out her skirt hastily. It wasn't really working that well, and her front was beginning to burn-

The boy jumped over the table and started frantically dabbing at her shirt with a cloth napkin. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, I really didn't mean to unnerve you, you're just really pretty-damnit, did I say that out loud?-and I think you're quite nice too, I'm sorry!" He threw the dirty napkin onto the table.

Priscilla slipped off her jumper, standing there in her stained button-down and tie, and smiled a little bashfully. "Oh-um-n-no problem. My name's Priscilla Hathaway."

"I know," he replied with a small smile. "Joseph Thatcher. I noticed that you were reading a lot of E. Nesbit, and-"

"You _know _her?" gasped Priscilla, stutters forgotten. "Most people don't!"

"My dad's a Muggle," Joseph replied, sliding into the seat next to her. "He read _Five Children and It _to me when I was little."

Priscilla was smiling broadly by that point. "Barely anyone knows E. Nesbit here. I'm still introducing Aurelia."

"Oh, Aurelia McGonagall? That brilliant Chaser?"

"Well. Yes," Priscilla felt a sudden flame of jealousy that she attempted to stifle.

"She's into reading?"

"She reads _Hester Prime _books a lot, have you heard of them?"

"Rather trashy, those. She likes them?" Joseph handed Priscilla his hot chocolate mug. "Here, take some of mine, unless you have a thing with germs. Which of course I don't mind, but still. It feels right to acknowledge germaphobes."

Priscilla laughed and took a dainty sip from the mug before continuing to talk enthusiastically to Joseph. Her heart was fluttering, but she ignored it. After all, she was utterly in love with Cedric.

Right?

* * *

**Reviews? What do you think of Joseph? He may or may not be the start of something, my lips are sealed...**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	28. Harry: Harry-itis and Christmas Eve

**So I know this is a little late, but I've been going to the swimming pool a lot lately and have had to deal with the horrors chlorine wreaks on my hair. Also I was enjoying writing something that was just pure fluff.**

**Thanks again to ****_flawsmadebeautiful,_**** who has been really helpful in developing parts of the story that haven't even been published yet but are going to be very important...**

* * *

Aurelia really, really, really hated the universe.

Her mother had told her to walk down to Hogsmeade by herself and had _forgotten to give her a Sickle for butterbeer even though she'd promised._ It was a crime. Not to mention that she was super thirsty for something other than water. Or pumpkin juice, which she found disgusting. She preferred lemonade or milk or a marvelous Muggle soda, Coca-Cola, that Priscilla's parents had sent them a few bottles of.

She was levitating her trunk rather tiredly when she caught sight of a once-dilapidated little cottage, now with a fresh coat of paint and a large sign in the window stating WELCOME HOME EEL in bright blue letters.

Suddenly Aurelia wasn't tired anymore.

She raced up the path, levitating her trunk with new vigor and giggling madly. Sure enough, she could hear the thumps of footsteps as someone ran to the door.

"PRONGSLET!" shrieked Aurelia excitedly, utterly forgetting about the butterbeer and the trunk, letting the latter fall on the path.

Her brother wrenched the door open and tackled her in a hug, nearly knocking her over.

Both of them were laughing as she pulled away. "You got all _tall _on me, Prongslet you bugger. I shall never, ever, ever forgive you."

Harry grinned. "You're still taller than me, so you have no right to argue. Oi! Dad! Eel's here!" He then noticed the trunk lying forgotten on the path. "You need help with that?"

"Oh, it's evil," Aurelia responded with a straight face. "I had to levitate it all the way here because it's too evil. Ooh, hello Moony! Do I get to call you 'Dad' too? I don't really think I _can_ though, I mean since I've only known you for about three years... I think that would be really quite insane though, if Mum's Mum and you're Dad...that would just be weird if you were actually in love." She hurried over to give Remus (who was now smiling broadly) a hug.

Remus hugged her back and let go to look at her proudly. "You've grown so much."

"Not really, I just look different because I'm suffering from Chocolate Frog lack. Or lack of Chocolate Frogs." Aurelia grinned happily and raced to grab her trunk from the snow.

Remus followed apprehensively. "Minerva isn't with you?"

"No, she's got to get all of her things in order and then she's going to come down." Aurelia tugged impatiently at her (lodged in a snowdrift) trunk. "Little help here, Moony?"

Remus smiled a little at the familiar moniker and hurried to help his girl with her trunk.

* * *

"Oooooooo!" shrieked Aurelia as soon as she saw the Christmas tree. "Oh _Merlin_, that's gorgeous!"

"Prongslet and I figured we could decorate it as a family," Remus told her softly. "I'm glad you like it. Harry picked it out."

"Oh, Prongslet, you short and charming little devil," sighed Aurelia. "This is the most splendid Christmas tree in the history of Christmas trees."

Harry laughed and hugged his sister. "I missed you."

Aurelia beamed, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek.

"Ron said that girls have germs," her brother stated soberly. "Is that true?"

"What? No! If anything, boys are the ones with germs!" Aurelia glared at him playfully and ruffled his hair. "Now I've got Harry germs. I'm probably going to catch Harry-itis. And then I'll die and never marry Ol-" Suddenly she clamped her hands over her mouth.

"Ol?" asked Remus teasingly. "Does someone have a crush?"

Aurelia's face was as red as her hair. "No! Absolutely not, no way, not true. Oliver is two years older than me, and that's an enormous age difference-"

"Not in two years," Remus reminded her.

Aurelia grinned a little dazedly. "He's a Keeper, is all."

"I would think that he'd be a keeper if you like him," teased Harry.

"Oi! None of your business, Prongslet!"

Harry simply smirked.

* * *

Minerva showed up in the evening, covered in snow and holding four butterbeers. She placed her luggage by the door before setting the drinks down on the coffee table.

Harry gave her a hug. "Hi Min!" he cried happily. "We're playing Crazy Eights and I'm winning!"

"Whatever," muttered Aurelia angrily, clutching her rather large fistful of cards and glaring at Harry.

"Ah, don't worry about her," Remus told Harry. "She's a sore loser."

"Wh-_I am not!"_

Minerva smiled slightly before hugging Harry back a little awkwardly. "It's good to see you, Harry."

"You too," Harry replied happily, and then "Come on! We'll deal you in next time, you want to referee to make sure Dad doesn't cheat?"

Remus smirked slightly. "I almost had you. It could have been a six of hearts instead of a nine of hearts."

"Why, Moony, taking advantage of poor, innocent children!" gasped Aurelia sadly. "How on earth _could _you?"

Remus laughed out loud at this. "If you two are innocent, I'll eat these cards."

"Eat them! Eat them!" shouted Harry excitedly, turning away from Minerva. However, he didn't shrug off her arms, which were still draped over his shoulders.

"Oh, now that Mum's here, we can decorate the tree!" Aurelia squealed, running over to the Christmas tree. "I say Harry puts up the star, okay?"

"Really?" breathed a reverent Harry, who had always wanted to put a star on a Christmas tree because only _family _let you do that. He supposed that he was in a family now. It felt nice, being part of a loving (if slightly strangely structured) family.

"Really," Aurelia breathed back, before running to find the Christmas ornaments.

* * *

Remus and Aurelia made popcorn for Harry and Minerva's popcorn strings, Aurelia and Harry hung most of the ornaments while Remus and Minerva had some tea, and Remus lifted Harry up to put on the star during Aurelia and Minerva's game of chess. Minerva won, of course.

"I'm bloody awful at this game," groaned Aurelia as Minerva took her king with a cleverly placed bishop.

Minerva nodded in a self-satisfied way, then beamed widely. "Oh, Harry, that's a marvelous job!"

Harry grinned and blushed proudly as Remus lowered him to the ground. Then he ran over to sit next to Aurelia on the couch, and Remus sat next to Minerva on one of the armchairs he and Harry had picked out.

"It's lovely," sighed Aurelia happily, Harry's head resting on her shoulder.

Remus smiled.

* * *

The next day, they walked down to the Shrieking Shack. There, Remus, Aurelia, and Harry had a snowball fight that seemed to be going nowhere.

At least until a stray snowball hit Minerva in the face when she was turning a page of _Transfiguration Today._

She looked up, then launched a snowball back up at Remus. It hit the mark. While Remus was debating whether or not it would be wise to try and hit back, Aurelia threw a snowball at him and declared herself champion.

The day after that, they built snowmen. Minerva's was a snow cat, Aurelia's was a snow-Harry (which looked very odd, because she didn't really know how to sculpt anything), Remus' was a snow deer (that he couldn't make stand up, so he had to make it sitting down), and Harry built a large snow Snitch.

Of course Minerva was the winner, but she graciously gave her prize (choice of dinner) to an overexcited Harry, who had fallen face-first on top of his snow duplicate and upset Aurelia. Harry, in an attempt to please his distraught sister, chose spaghetti. Needless to say, his attempt worked.

And the day after that was spent in Honeydukes picking out Christmas treats. All four were enjoying large lollipops as they exited with a large bag of sweets.

Finally came Christmas Eve, which was spent curled up by the fireplace, playing Go Fish and eating Chocolate Frogs.

"Do you have...any nines?" asked Aurelia lazily.

"Go fish," replied Harry happily. "I got you something really nice for Christmas, Eel. I bet you'll love it."

"Oo, really? You didn't have to!" Aurelia grinned at Harry joyfully before telling Minerva, "Mum, it's your turn."

"Do you have any sevens?" Minerva asked Remus.

Remus made a face. "Cat instinct," he muttered, and handed three sevens to Minerva.  
"What?" asked Harry bemusedly.

"Because she can turn into a cat," Remus explained. "Do you have any queens, Harry?"

"Go fish. Stop asking me about queens!" Harry replied with playful indignation. "And can Min really turn into a cat?"

In response, Minerva blinked, and suddenly a tabby cat was sitting next to Aurelia with Minerva's characteristic stiffness.

As Harry and Remus laughed, Aurelia snuggled happily into the latter and remembered how a year ago she would never have dreamed this wonderful happiness possible.


	29. Year Two: Difficulties and Chats Outside

**Hey!**

**Sorry I wasn't able to update during the weekend, I had a trip going on then and there was no time to work on a chapter. However much I wanted to.**

**Thanks again to ****_flawsmadebeautiful, _****because this chapter turned out to be very important...**

* * *

"Aaargh!"

The outburst from Aurelia was quite a surprise to the rest of her friends, who had been watching Fred and George play a game of Gobstones. No one had noticed Aurelia's furious glare at her parchment, which was remaining blank and empty.

"I hate writing!" she shouted dramatically, throwing the parchment to the ground and glaring at it some more. "I hate it! And I hate fiction as well!"

"Story not going well, Aurelia?" asked Priscilla quietly, turning away from the Gobstones game.

"I can't concentrate," Aurelia sighed, slumping against a tree and staring dejectedly at the surface of the lake.

It was the middle of February and Aurelia was bored out of her mind. Nothing eventful had happened since Christmas and nothing was happening now. She felt like she had fallen into a hole and couldn't get out.

Not to mention that Oliver Wood seemed to be taking a leaf out of Cedric Diggory's book, and was flirting shamelessly with a gorgeous black-haired girl by the name of Alanna Thompson. Aurelia especially hated that Alanna had dark hair, because it made her feel like her own red hair would never attract someone as shamelessly handsome as Oliver Wood.

She glanced over. The ebony-haired Gryffindor was giggling loudly.

"I hate writing," Aurelia muttered again with slightly less dramaticism, staring fixedly at her knee.

A small, pale hand, painted with _Ciel Nocturne_ nail polish, took hers.

"Hey, chin up," Priscilla breathed. "You're going to have an excellent summer, aren't you?"

There was a strange bitterness in her words, something that Aurelia was unused to. She glanced up, and saw that Priscilla's blue eyes seemed almost forced into her usual wide and innocent expression.

"You all right?" Aurelia replied a little uncertainly.

"Yes," Priscilla told her shortly, with a finality that closed the matter.

Aurelia was troubled by the behavior of her friend, but brushed it off. Priscilla was generally a cheerful person, and she was certain that her friend would be over it by the next day.

* * *

The next day came. Priscilla was filling out her forms for electives in the library, and so Aurelia had decided to stay in the dormitory and relax. Unfortunately, she had run out of parchment.

She groaned dramatically, realized that there was no audience, and commenced to hunt all over the dormitory for parchment. No luck. At least, that was what she thought, until she caught a glimpse of a crumpled piece of paper lying under Priscilla's bed. She gave a shriek of joy and dived for it, desperate to write more about Jemina Jones. But then, as she uncrumpled it carefully, she realized that there was writing on it. Writing that Aurelia strongly suspected was a letter to Priscilla.

That she should not be reading.

Guiltily, Aurelia tried to stop, but she was the sort of person who couldn't resist the allure of words.

* * *

_Priscilla,_

_This witching business has spread to your sister. I have no intention of letting this continue, as I wish for at least one of you to follow in my footsteps. Already I can see that you will not be the one. Antoinetta will not be attending Hogwarts or Beauxbatons, regardless of your father's wishes. Even if she is accomplished enough to get two scholarships, she is much too beautiful to fritter her life away studying all the time. My hopes are for her to have more options, as I did when I became a model. If you join this "wizard world" or whatever it's called, you will be wasting your life. Consider this your last warning._

_And whether or not Antoinetta wishes to go to these magic schools, I will not allow it. I want you two to have a life free from silly distractions and Antoinetta actually has the looks for it. I will continue to let you make this mistake because I see no other path for you. You are much too shy and meek to find a career in modeling or anything else I would like you to. Whether or not you have the looks for it is irrelevant; your posture is imperfect at best._

_When you return for the summer I shall make sure that you do not give your sister any ideas. Although she is inconsolable at the moment, soon she shall see that it is for the best._

_Your maman,_

_Anne-Marie Delaurier_

* * *

Aurelia felt a sick twist in her stomach. Never once had she asked about Priscilla's home life. Her assumption was that Priscilla's life was simple, aside from the bullying when she was little-

Waitaminute.

What if Priscilla had made that up? What if she had wanted to distance herself from her mother instead and hadn't wanted to know French or be pretty? Priscilla's last name was Hathaway, not Delaurier, or had she lied about that too? There was something rather odd going on here, and unfortunately Aurelia was her father's daughter.

Completely and utterly emotionally clueless.

She ran downstairs, the (by now very crumpled) letter clutched in her hand, prepared to confront Priscilla.

* * *

Priscilla was sitting in the library and crying very softly behind her book when Aurelia galumphed in (earning her a reproving look from Madam Pince) and burst out, "Priscilla, are you all right?"

Priscilla whirled. Her eyes darted from Aurelia to the piece of paper in Aurelia's hand.

"What-why-_that's my letter!_" she choked out in a horrified voice.

Aurelia looked down at her hand sheepishly. "Ooh. That wasn't exactly the right way for you to find out."

Priscilla burst into hysterical tears, snatched the letter from a nonplussed Aurelia, and stormed miserably out of the library.

Aurelia stood there for a few seconds, shaking, before she realized how _stupid _she'd been and ran out of the library, holding in her own sobs.

* * *

Priscilla was walking down the fifth-floor corridor and sniffling the last of her tears up when she walked straight into Joseph Thatcher.

"Oh Merlin, I'm so s-sorry!" Priscilla wailed, the collision being the last straw.

In response, Joseph replied, "Hey, what's bothering you?" Priscilla was sobbing too hard to answer, so he continued, "Here. C'mon, let's walk down on the grounds, okay?"

She followed him miserably, letting him drape his arm around her shoulder. He was proving to be a wonderful friend.

Emphasis on _friend._

* * *

They walked down to the grounds and sat underneath a tree, the snowflakes landing on Priscilla's nose and fluttering in her hair.

Joseph didn't say anything. All he did was stare at the lake, and there was something nice about that.

"My name isn't really Hathaway," mumbled Priscilla without looking at him.

"Go on," Joseph prompted gently.

"It's Delaurier but my mum is awful and I don't like her at all and she's always off on these business trips-" Priscilla paused, because she didn't really want to go into detail about the "business trips" that weren't really for business at all. Then she continued recklessly, a sudden desperation to tell someone overtaking her common sense. "And my dad let me change my name to Hathaway when I was ten and I realized that she didn't-"

She couldn't say it.

"Didn't what?" asked Joseph softly. It felt odd, her next to him. Especially when she'd have given anything to be with Cedric.

"Love me," Priscilla croaked. As long as she didn't directly say it in a sentence, maybe it wouldn't be true. "And I lied to Fred and Aurelia, because my dad's British but my mum always talks to us all in French, and I hate her because she doesn't like me, and I have a bloody screwed up life."

Joseph took her hand in his. Part of her wanted to yank her hand away, in case Cedric saw and thought they were together, but part of her was too tired and too sad to do that.

Plus, this was the first time that a boy had held her hand. She'd expected it to be Aurelia first, Aurelia who everyone loved, Aurelia the Chaser, Aurelia the pretty one, Aurelia the brash and the bold.

"You know something?" he breathed, a snowflake landing on his eyelash. "I have an older sister-Annemarie-gorgeous girl. She's jealous of me now, because I'm the magic one and she's always been the one in the spotlight. And she doesn't want to share the spotlight. Everyone has a raw spot in their family, Priscilla. Some people just have bigger problems than others. And sometimes the raw spot doesn't show up for awhile, but know that you aren't the only one."

Priscilla swallowed. She hadn't noticed quite how _green _his eyes were.

* * *

Aurelia waited for Priscilla all night, perched on her four-poster bed with her eyes wide open. But when Priscilla came in at eleven, covered in snow and smiling a little dazedly (the smile died down when she saw Aurelia), she didn't answer to Aurelia's shaky apology. The only thing she did was slump down into bed and stare at the ceiling of their dormitory. The ceiling painted with stars.

* * *

**I would really appreciate some more reviews. I'm averaging about two a chapter, and they are both from ****_Whoa it's fandoms _and jthorne . student_,_**** who I thank profusely. I'm so glad you love my story!**

**All of you, there's a review box right underneath this Author's Note, and even if all you're saying is "I love it!" it still means a lot to me.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	30. Harry: Netta

**AAAUGH! I am truly one of the most awful people for procrastinating so long with this chapter.**

**That said, as always, enjoy this chapter immensely, particularly since I had so much difficulty with writer's block.**

* * *

"Muggle London suddenly seems boring, seeing as we're only passing through to buy a new cauldron," Harry commented as he walked alongside Remus through the streets. "I mean, when you think of the-"

He was cut short by an uncharacteristically sharp look from his guardian.

"Harry, there is a reason for the International Statute of Secrecy," Remus reminded him in a clipped voice. "The word 'Muggle' alone can attract unwanted attention."

Harry groaned. "Being us is hard."

Remus debated on whether or not to correct Harry's sentence, realized that he didn't know whether the sentence needed correcting at all, and decided to leave the matter alone, changing the subject hastily. "Would you like to go get a donut, Harry? Diagon Alley isn't exactly the best place for donuts, and I myself like pastries much more than ice cream."

"All right," replied Harry cheerfully. "I've never had a donut, actually."

"Never had a donut?" gasped Remus in soft mock-horror. "We must correct this fault at once! Onward, Sir Harry, and-"

"You sound like that Sir Cadogan that Aurelia told us about."

"I did go to Hogwarts too, you know." Remus rumpled Harry's hair and got a slightly annoyed glare in response. "Really though, we men need donuts."

"I bet Aurelia would say that women need donuts too."

"Do you want to owl her one?"

Harry shrugged. "I think she prefers Chocolate Frogs. Can we go to the donut shop now, Sir Dad-Moony?"

"That," said Remus, his mouth twitching, "is quite an interesting title."

* * *

The donut shop was empty aside from a rather attractive blonde woman in her mid-thirties and her daughter, dressed in pink, who looked about Harry's age.

"Now," the woman was saying as Harry entered the shop, "I will be going to buy you some more clothing. I know all of your measurements, so you may stay here and buy a treat. I expect you to watch your weight and buy something _small_-you are an aspiring star, not a pig."

The girl pressed her lips together and didn't respond.

"I expect you to stay here," said the woman coolly before striding out of the shop with the practiced walk of a model. Harry felt awful for the girl, who looked miserable.

Cautiously, he walked over to her. She was perched on a swivel stool with her chin resting on her forearms and staring into space with wide blue eyes.

"Hi," he said awkwardly. Remus had come in and seeing Harry busy had simply sat down at another table, stealing glances at both of them. Evidently he thought Harry was flirting with the girl.

She looked up with mild surprise. "Hello," she replied. She had a slight accent, maybe French. "Do I know you?"

"No, I just-" Harry threw caution to the winds and burst out, "You look really upset and I guess I never got someone to talk to when I needed to, a while ago, and maybe you could talk to me because I _don't_ know you. Do you get it, sort of?"

She removed her forearms from the countertop and turned on her swivel stool to look at him. "I think so."

"Good, because I have no clue what I'm talking about." Harry tried to sound like Aurelia there, playful with his words and witty with his tone, but it came off stilted and unnatural.

This only made the girl smile more as she responded, "I think I get it. Because we most likely aren't going to see each other again, so it doesn't really matter if I tell you everything-" Suddenly she stopped and stared at the white countertop. "There is _some _stuff I can't tell you, though."

Harry nodded. "Of course. I mean, I'm a random boy you met in a donut shop. Why should I expect you to tell me your favorite color, let alone your deepest secrets?"

The girl's eyes sparkled with mirth. "I might tell you my favorite color, just because you're really funny and nice. It's-"

"Wait, let me guess." Harry was elated by his success and the fact that she'd called him _funny and nice,_ so he continued with zeal. "Pink? You appear to be wearing a lot of it."

"Eurgh, no, I loathe pink. I _hate _pink."

"Then why-"

"Mum wants me to," said the girl in a flat voice, but Harry could see her eyes, previously happy, narrow into slits. "Can we talk about something else, random boy I met in a donut shop?"

Harry grinned. "Call me Random Boy, I think it'll work better."

The girl seemed to relax. "I don't really want to talk about my mum. She's not very nice."

"I shall not say anything on the subject due to the fact that you are the first girl I've met who hasn't run away screaming, and I'd like to keep it that way."

She twirled a strand of blonde hair around her finger. Then she unclipped a pink butterfly barrette from her hair, letting it fall into her eyes, and handed it to him.

"Keep it," she giggled, swinging her legs and letting her feet crash softly into the barrier between diner and kitchen. "As a memento of the fact that I _didn't _run away screaming."

"Thanks." Harry pocketed it, wishing he had the courage to clip it in his hair. He had a feeling that she would laugh. "What's your-"

Remus seemed to lose patience with sitting at the table and staring into space at that point, because he called from their table, "Are we getting donuts and what we came for or chit-chatting? We should probably get back at a reasonable time."

Harry groaned softly, called back "Coming!" and explained to the girl, "Technically this was only supposed to be a small stop. My dad and I are running errands."

The girl smiled again, a little sadly. "D'you want to exchange telephone numbers?"

"Oh-er-I actually haven't got a telephone," mumbled Harry. "But what's your name? Maybe I can-"

"Netta," replied the girl simply.

"I'm Harry," Harry responded, sticking out his hand. Netta shook it with a firm grip-he hadn't expected that from someone so small and slight. "Maybe we'll run into each other again?"

Netta nodded, then removed her hand from his to dig in her pocket and bring out a crumpled business card. "Here's my address," she told him. "Write me, okay?"

Harry looked a lot like the Cheshire cat when he answered, "Sure," and hurried over to Remus-

"Wait!" called Netta from the table, looking worried. "What about _your_ address?"

"Don't worry," Harry called back as he sat down next to Remus, "I promise I won't forget!"

* * *

_Dear Netta,_

_I told you I wouldn't forget._

_I'm not sure what to write to you about-I generally don't write to anyone except my big sister, Aurelia, who goes to Hogwarts (which is a special boarding school that I might go to next year)-so I'll just write about the scenery. I'm sitting in my backyard right now, in the middle of the grass. The snow's all melting now, even though it's March, and every morning I always tell it to hurry up and get a move on so Dad and I can go outside without having to put on enormous fluffy jackets. The jackets always make me feel like a giant pillow._

_Dad and I are working on building a treehouse. It's taking longer than we expected, mostly since Dad has issues with building things, but it still looks fairly nice. Even though it isn't even close to finished yet. I didn't realize that building things could be so hard to do, or so frustrating. I nearly nailed myself to the floor at one point before Dad stopped me._

_Seeing as one conversation in a donut shop really isn't enough to get to know someone, how are you doing? Are you still wearing horrifying amounts of pink? And since I never got my question answered, what's your favorite color?_

_Sincerely,_

_Harry_

* * *

He got quite a shock in the next letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_I HAD NO IDEA! You can drop the charade now, because my older sister Priscilla goes to Hogwarts and-_

"No way," Harry whispered, his mind flickering back to a girl he'd met many months ago.

* * *

"_Priscilla, this is Moony and that's my brother Harry, I wrote you about them, remember?"_

* * *

**So, did ya like? I loved, especially since it took me ridiculously long to write.**

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	31. Year Two: An Enormous Step

**Okay, I just KNOW that all of you are going to love this chapter for one reason or another. So I won't even bother saying to hope that you enjoy.**

* * *

Priscilla still wasn't talking to Aurelia.

It was now nearing the end of April. Aurelia was bursting with exciting news about Harry, who happened to now be pen pals with Priscilla's sister Netta. He'd met her in a donut shop and was writing her long and detailed letters. If Priscilla was talking to Aurelia they could play match-maker or something…

"You all right?"

Aurelia glanced up from her parchment, which was covered in blots. Fred was standing next to her and looking awkward. She stabbed her quill into the parchment and broke the tip.

"Here," said Fred, digging in his bag and pulling out a slightly battered quill. She took it with a mumbled word of thanks and went back to scribbling.

Fred yanked her hand away from the paper. "Aurelia, you've got ink all over your hands. How long have you been writing?"

"Um," replied Aurelia evasively before attempting to go back to a detailed description of Jemina's friend's house.

"No," said Fred, taking his quill back and keeping a firm grip on her inky hand. "You need to apologize to Priscilla."

Aurelia exhaled. "She isn't listening to me, so what-"

"Try, at least," snapped Fred irritably. "I'm sick of seeing you so glum all the time." He pulled her up from her chair in the library, and something rather odd happened.

Aurelia suddenly noticed that Fred's hair was quite red and his eyes a perfect shade of brown, and that he had a sweet little hesitant smile at the corner of his mouth. She noticed that his hand was a tad bigger than hers and her hand sort of _fit_ in his. She noticed that he was a bit shorter than her (just a _bit_) and very, very lovely to look at.

They stared at each other for a moment, hesitantly, and Fred took her other hand in his-

Aurelia jerked her hands away.

_Don't even think about it, Potter._

"Right," she said loudly. "Right. I'm going to go apologize. That's a bloody brilliant idea."

"I-"

"I know you want to help me," Aurelia interrupted hastily, desperate to keep him from saying what she was certain she'd seen in his eyes (damn, was it really that obvious? And _she,_ Aurelia, champion at reading people wrong, had seen it? This brought Aurelia a little internal smile) and desperate to keep her only other friend from becoming something else, something uncharted, "but I think I need to do this on my own, all right?"

Fred tried to say something else, but Aurelia had already dashed out of the library.

* * *

Priscilla was sitting outside with Joseph Thatcher, looking miserable. Aurelia figured that this was as good a time as any to talk to her friend and hurried down the steps.

"Oi, Silly!" she called loudly. Priscilla didn't move.

"Silly!" called Aurelia again. This time, Priscilla looked up dazedly, and her depressed air vanished to be replaced by a stony glare.

Aurelia hurried up to her friend. "Silly- _Priscilla._ You have no idea how sorry I am that I read that letter. No idea at all, all right? And I would give anything to-to to take it back, I guess, and not have you mad at me. And not have to have betrayed your trust and-"

"I would've probably done the same thing," Priscilla interrupted, "reading the letter and all, but you _could _have handled it more gracefully, all right? I don't know whether I want to talk to you about the letter yet. I think it sort of explains itself."  
Aurelia nodded and took Priscilla's hand. "I really am sorry."

"I understand, and I'll do my best to forgive you, all right?" Priscilla gave Aurelia a small smile.

Joseph coughed.

"Oh!" Priscilla blushed. "Aurelia, this is Joseph Thatcher. Joseph, this is my best mate Aurelia."

Aurelia smiled warmly at Joseph, who grinned back and said politely, "A pleasure."

"Oi, Aury-pie!" Fred came racing out of the castle. "You didn't even ask if I wanted to come observe, you bugger!"

Aurelia laughed weakly as color flooded her cheeks. "Yeah. Um. Yeah. Sorry."

Fred stopped three feet from her and stared at her again, in that unnerving fashion. She met his gaze with a furious blush and dug the toe of her shoe into the grass.

"So," said Fred with a peculiar smile, "did everything go all right? Because if it did, I am required to kidnap Miss Potter and get revenge for her making me go into the library, where the evil Madam Pince glared at me for the entire five minutes I was there."

Aurelia suddenly smiled back. Now _this _was familiar terrain. "Yes, I apologized to Silly."

"Excellent," replied Fred. Before Aurelia knew what he was doing he had reached forward, tried to pick her up, and fallen over backwards.

"Oh Merlin!" choked Aurelia, in an effort not to laugh, falling to her knees next to him. "Are you all right, Fred? That wasn't exactly a very successful kidnapping attempt!"

Fred groaned and sat up. There were bits of twig and leaf in his hair. "Don't most of your sappy romance novels have something stupid like that in them?"

Aurelia blushed once again, rolled her eyes, and responded, "A: They aren't sappy. B: They aren't real."

"Come on. I'm kidnapping you." Fred pulled himself up, grabbed Aurelia's hand, and took off running, towing her along behind him.

"So denial isn't just a river in Egypt," snorted Joseph as soon as kidnapper and kidnappee were out of earshot.

Priscilla laughed. "I have no idea how long they're going to take to get together."

"Sort of like Sophie and Howl in _Howl's Moving Castle, _right?"

"You've read that? I adored it. But do keep in mind that Sophie was an old lady due to the curse. That might make falling in love rather difficult, at least for Howl."

"Love goes beyond age, though, doesn't it?" replied Joseph. "Like in _Jane Eyre._"

"I wouldn't have pegged you as the Jane Eyre type."

"My reading interest has no boundaries." Joseph was suddenly very close to her, and he was smiling a little shyly.

His hand was on her shoulder. When had his hand found her shoulder? She suddenly was very conscious of the difference between twelve and thirteen.

When they'd first met, just four months back, she'd been a girl who made a friend, and she'd adored Joseph-the-friend. But now they were both technically teenagers in the loosest sense, and there was something hanging in the air.

There was something bothering her about this, and that was the fact that she was supposed to fancy Cedric. She'd fancied him for nearly a year! Was she really that fickle?

_But maybe, Priscilla, _stated her voice of reason (which, oddly enough, sounded a bit like how she thought E. Nesbit would sound), _maybe you never really knew Cedric at all. _

She took his hand a little uncertainly. It wasn't bravery or anything. His right hand, the one that wasn't on her shoulder, was already brushing her left hand a little, and she just moved her hand and took it.

Joseph was still smiling, only now he looked like someone had handed him the moon and told him he could keep it. He squeezed her hand and leaned in a little bit closer, not quite kissing her.

Priscilla smiled back at him, feeling a little dizzy with happiness. It seemed very small to hold someone's hand, but if it was Joseph Thatcher then holding hands was an enormous step.

* * *

"No bloody way," gasped Aurelia dramatically. They were sitting in a niche off the hallway, seeing as they wanted to speak privately.

"I know," sighed Priscilla happily. "I think we're going out now."

Aurelia smiled. "I am so jealous of you, you know that? You're the first one to have a boyfriend."

"Yeah, but you're the first one to have your...dot."

"Dot?"

"Monthly visitor. Urgh, fine, _period_."

Aurelia started giggling uncontrollably. "_Dot_, Priscilla? I don't care about my _dot_! I'd trade my dot for your boyfriend, having a dot is a pain in the-"

"Don't. Don't finish that. First years passing." Priscilla stood up and brushed some dust off of her skirt. "D'you think we'll be late for class?"

Aurelia giggled some more and managed to stand up. "Let's head to Potions and act extremely demented. I bet your boyfriend saved you a seat."

Priscilla simply smiled.

* * *

**Yay, right? I had so much fun writing this. It turned into something I hadn't anticipated.**

**I don't think Priscilla and Joseph would kiss yet. They're only nearly out of second year, and I don't want to rush things.**

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	32. Harry: Not 1, Not 2, But FOUR LETTERS!

**AARGH I REALLY WANT TO WRITE PRISCILLA/JOSEPH FLUFF BUT MY OWN FORMAT IS SCREWING WITH ME AARGH okay that's enough ranting. I put a little Priscilla/Joseph in this chapter anyway.**

**Thanks to my lovely beta ****_flawsmadebeautiful._**

* * *

"Mail!" shouted Harry excitedly, dancing around the kitchen clutching not one, not two, but _four letters, _all addressed to him in different handwriting-Aurelia's careful print, Ron's messy scrawl, Minerva's emerald ink, and Netta's smudgy pencil.

Remus grinned distractedly from the sofa and opened up a copy of the _Prophet,_ flipping to a page that he'd paper-clipped.

Harry, meanwhile, was busily opening Netta's letter. It was fairly concise, but still quite nice to read. At least, at the beginning.

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_I HAD NO IDEA! You can drop the charade now, because my older sister Priscilla goes to Hogwarts and I got a letter to go there too. Also Beauxbatons but I decided I'd rather go with Priscilla. I sent my letter explaining about that back in February._

_But, well, remember my mum? She doesn't want me to go there. And the Headmaster showed up when she didn't answer the letter, so she told him I was going but she's not planning for me to go at all. She said that I have to find my own transportation, which she knows that I can't really do without her help, and Priscilla isn't allowed to take me to King's Cross with her. Is there any sort of transportation that you can think of?_

_Sincerely,_

_Netta_

* * *

Harry frowned slightly at the paper. That wasn't fair at all. He'd offer to take her himself-he was certain that Dad wouldn't object-but he had a feeling that Mrs. Delaurier wouldn't appreciate near-strangers taking her daughter to a school unapproved by her.

He then grinned at the sight of Aurelia's next letter.

* * *

_Prongslet, hello!_

_This ink eraser is truly marvelous, if it wasn't for the fact that most of the time I forget to use it. Ah well. You'll never believe what happened. You don't care about romance yet, I'm sure, but Priscilla has a boyfriend! Let me write that again, capitalized, so it can sink in-PRISCILLA HAS A BOYFRIEND! She's had him for about a...month now!_

_I'm not shocked, of course. She's prettier than me and...umm...I can't think of anyone else pretty...Angelina Johnson! Me and Angelina Johnson put together. Ah damn, that sounds so awful and weird. I'd use the ink eraser except I left it on my bed and it's worn thin. It leaves eraser shavings everywhere too, and it looks like I have a pet eraser that sheds on me._

_Said boyfriend's name is Joseph Thatcher and he's actually really nice. Yesterday he got Priscilla daffodils by owl-order. They dropped in her lap at breakfast and she had this wonderful grin all the rest of the morning. She tucked one of them in her hair and saved another. Right now she's wearing one and talking to Joseph with this enormous smile on her face. Ahh, young love. Did that sound condescending? I hope not._

_Nothing much else to write. Too busy sulking. Stupid Slytherins won the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup. AGAIN. It is SO unfair, Ravenclaw would've won if we'd beaten Hufflepuff. I still blame Roger (Davies; we're on a first-name basis now) for that awful throw to me. Even Priscilla thought he could've done it better, and she STILL doesn't remember what position I play. Don't think Joseph minds though or he wouldn't fancy her._

_Love love love, (Should there be more commas there, d'you think?)_

_Aurelia who is too lazy to properly sign off with all of her nicknames so will just write her name-oh bloody hell, signing off this way probably took longer._

* * *

At his sister's cheerful news, Harry smiled a little. But his mind wandered back to Netta's dilemma and his smile slid off his face.

He decided to read the third letter to cheer himself up. Minerva almost never wrote to him and he was sure that there would be something wonderful in her letter. He wasn't wrong.

* * *

_Harry,_

_I know that I usually do not write to you, but I have some pictures to send you that I am sure you will enjoy. I expect you to share them with Aurelia, as she is in quite a few of them._

_Love,_

_Min_

* * *

The _Love_ in the letter made Harry smile a bit. He was very glad to see that Minerva did love him, even if she didn't express it that well.

He opened the attached envelope eagerly. Pictures of little Aurelia, little him, and their parents spilled onto the floor.

Two caught his eye. Both were the same photo: a three-year-old Aurelia perched on the couch between her parents, her arms around a one-year-old Harry as if he were a teddy bear. As he watched, his mother leaned over and kissed baby Harry on the top of his head.

He hastily swept up the pictures and placed them in a small pile on the kitchen table. Then he put aside the one photo that he wanted to show to Aurelia and the copy of it that he wanted to keep for himself, before opening up the last letter.

* * *

_Harry mate,_

_I got my wand! Even if it's a hand-me-down, it's still pretty nice. Charlie accidentally exploded most of Ollivander's shop while he was getting it, but it's still really cool even if I can't use it yet. It's 12 inches, ash and unicorn hair._

_It's really boring here at my house with only me and Ginny. Everyone else is always at school. I can't wait for next year, when we'll get to go to Hogwarts. Only a few more months! Ginny's really upset she's going to be the only one at home with Mum and Dad, but I bet she'll get over it-she doesn't really have a choice. _

_Your sister written with any interesting news? All Fred writes about in his letters is Quidditch. Maybe girls write about something more interesting. I doubt it. I would probably write about Quidditch too if I was on the team._

_Hope that you're doing okay-_

_Ron_

* * *

"Dad?" Harry called, folding Ron's letter.

"Hmm?" replied Remus slightly vacantly before adding, "What is it, Prongslet?"

Harry smirked slightly and hurried into the living room, where Remus was staring at a section of the _Daily Prophet _for the fifth time in a row. Of course, Harry didn't realize the significance of the section.

* * *

**SIRIUS BLACK STILL REMARKABLY SANE**

_Even after nine years in Azkaban, Sirius Black (murderer of twelve unnamed Muggles and Peter Pettigrew) is still-_

* * *

Remus folded the paper and forced a smile at Harry. "Sorry. Go on."

"I hadn't even started talking yet!" said Harry with a laugh, before sobering up and wordlessly handing Remus the letter.

Remus scanned it briefly before looking up at Harry and saying, "I would be happy to take your friend to Hogwarts with us-from what I heard in the donut shop she is quite a lovely girl-but I am worried that her mother will not appreciate a man (who she does not know) and his son (who she also does not know) taking her youngest daughter to Hogwarts."

Harry nodded a little sadly, and then a brilliant idea hit him.

"What if she doesn't know that we're taking Netta?"

* * *

_Dear Netta,_

_I have a solution. Tell your mum that you're going to walk to King's Cross. She'll probably think it's ridiculous and expect you to give up and come back home, but instead you'll walk two blocks or so in that direction, away from your mum, and we'll meet you there. Any specific place that you think we should meet? We can meet you there at around ten-thirty._

_Your friend,_

_Harry_

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_How about the cross streets Little Russel Street and Bury Place? I can walk there reasonably fast._

_Oh, and thanks a million! I don't know what I would've done without your help._

_Your friend,_

_Netta_

* * *

Two weeks later, when he received the letter, Harry grinned. Finally, things seemed to be looking up.

* * *

**YAY we've nearly gotten Harry to Hogwarts! Thanks ever so much to all of my lovely readers and reviewers. Never could've done it without you.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	33. Year Two: BANG! and Makes You Bonkers

**Thanks again to my beta, ****_flawsmadebeautiful._**

**Oh! And before I forget, I've put up a poll on my profile for where you think Priscilla and Joseph should have their first kiss. If you have any ideas you should go check it out! Or leave a suggestion in a review.**

* * *

Aurelia stared out the window eagerly, taking a bite out of her last Chocolate Frog and getting a good deal on her nose. "Are we there yet?"

"For the thousandth time _no,_ we'd see Nine-And-Three-Quarters out the window if we were even remotely close, now would you please shut up and let me concentrate?" replied Fred in an irritated voice, then in Priscilla's direction, "Got any nines?"

"You already asked me about fives," Priscilla muttered sleepily, her head resting on Joseph's shoulder.

"No, he didn't," Aurelia turned away from the window. "He asked if you had any _nines, _not _fives._ You shouldn't have been up all night trying to find your left sock."

Priscilla muttered something unintelligible and commenced to doze off on Joseph's shoulder. The owner of said shoulder smiled a little dizzy grin.

Aurelia jumped down from her perch on the train...seat? Booth? As a writer she should know the right word, but unfortunately she did not. Then she sorted through Priscilla's cards and told Fred, "She does. Three nines. Here you go."

Her hand brushed his as she handed him the card. She felt herself smile unexplainably. Fred blushed a little-

"BANG!" shouted Priscilla in her sleep, making Fred and Aurelia both jump slightly. The former stared at Priscilla incredulously and demanded, "What in Merlin's name was _that?_"

Aurelia giggled, "I dunno. She yells a lot when she's sleeping. I think she thinks she's in an adventure or something."

"BANG!" shouted Priscilla again, and snuggled into Joseph's shoulder. The grin on Joseph's face became larger and more prominent.

"EEEEE!" shrieked Aurelia, suddenly jumping up onto the seat and waving like a madwoman.

They had come up to Platform 9¾. Harry was jumping up and down outside the train, excitedly, evidently trying to see if he could find Aurelia. When he saw Aurelia waving at him he grinned and pointed to the large trunks behind him.

"I still don't get why you aren't staying behind," commented Joseph. "Isn't your house in Hogsmeade?"

"It is, but we're going to stay at an inn near the Burrow and visit with Fred's family, seeing as Harry wants to see Ron and Moony wants to ask Charlie for help with the treehouse. Not to mention that I want to see Freddie-cake more during the summer," replied Aurelia breathlessly without breaking eye contact with her brother.

Fred smiled at the nickname and Aurelia's admission that she liked him.

"Lucky you," groused Joseph. "All I'm doing is holidaying at home. It's horrible. Annie-that's my older sister, she's a Squib-is going to be a pain in the arse." He attempted to gently shake Priscilla awake. "Wake up, Priscilla, come on, we're at the platform."

Priscilla, who was only half-awake, curled into Joseph's arms in a very snuggly fashion. Aurelia giggled a little at the cuteness of her best friend's head buried in Joseph's chest. But Joseph, even though he now bore a slight resemblance to a jack o' lantern, managed to try again. This time it worked. Priscilla gave a muffled gasp at being so close to Joseph and jumped away, her cheeks flaming.

Aurelia giggled again. "So, shall we go?"

* * *

"HARRY!" shouted Aurelia, tackling her giggling little brother in a hug. "Damnit, you little bugger, you're getting taller than me! We shall have to chop off your head and feed you to the wolves!"

Harry pulled away, grinning widely. "Since when do you have permission to chop off my head?"

"Since you started getting taller than me, because as you know that is _not _allowed." Aurelia replied teasingly.

"Hey there, doe," breathed a voice. Remus scooped Aurelia up from behind in a bear hug. Now _she _was giggling. "How'd school go this year?"

"Oooh, excellent! Really excellent! I should be Chaser next year hopefully, I mean if tryouts go well, but they probably will. The only real competition is for the Seeker, there's this bloody brilliant girl trying out next year. Chang, I think, Cho Chang or something of the sort. You should see her fly, she's amazing! Our Seeker just graduated so we need a new one. It should be amazing!"

"D'you think they'll let me try out for Seeker?" asked Harry eagerly.

"I wish," sighed Aurelia, "but they never let first years. I spent five hours of my first year outside Madam Hooch's office. Didn't work."

Remus smirked. "Was this before or after you started talking to Rowie?"

"Hey! Rowie's amazing! If she hadn't been there, I wouldn't have run into you!"

Remus hugged her again. "I missed you."

"Missed you too. OI! MUM!"

This last sentence was directed at Minerva, who was hurrying out of the Hogwarts Express looking both amused and annoyed.

"Aura, you are covered in chocolate."

"What? Oh. Just a smidge. On my nose. Hang on." Aurelia wiped the small smear of chocolate off of her nose before leaning up to hug her mother. "MUM I MISSED YOU SO MUCH I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN FIVE HOURS I'M DYING HERE!"

"You made three sentences one sentence," replied Minerva, her mouth twitching. "I am quite impressed."

Aurelia giggled happily. "I really did miss you for the five hours that I didn't see you."

"You didn't see me for _two _hours, not _five._"

"Oh."

Minerva turned away from Aurelia to lean down and awkwardly hug Harry. "How are you doing?"

"Could be better. Aurelia just threatened to chop off my head."

"_Aurelia-"_

"Oh Prongslet, you and your annoying cleverness. I didn't _threaten_ exactly, Mum, I just suggested."

"Ah." Minerva rolled her eyes at Remus, who smiled a little. "Makes perfect sense."

"Exactly, glad you understand, are we Apparating to the inn or-"

"Actually, we will be staying with the Lovegoods. They have had quite a lot of room since Stella passed away." Minerva paused here, for Stella Lovegood had been one of her favorite pupils. Very down-to-earth and sensible. Goodness knows _what _she saw in Xenophilius, the two had squabbled constantly, but there had obviously been something. "Are you-"

She stopped again. Aurelia had frozen, her eyes fixed on a point and her expression a little dazed.

"Wh-"

But Remus held up a hand to stop Minerva from speaking. He was smiling slightly.

Fred was getting off the train, his hair comically messed up by George and Lee, and he was heading straight for Aurelia.

"I suspected as much," breathed Remus. "Potters have always had a thing for redheads."

Minerva laughed out loud at this, then glanced hastily at Aurelia. Thankfully, she was too busy staring at Fred to notice.

Fred, meanwhile, hurried over to Aurelia and gave her a hug-an action that surprised Aurelia a little, even though he'd done the same thing last year.

"Hey-see you soon, all right?"

"What? Candy. Yes. No. Frog. Okay," replied Aurelia, whose mouth seemed to have begun to work without aid of her brain.

Fred smirked. "Eloquent, Potter."

This brought Aurelia back to reality and enabled her to hug him back. She pressed her face into his shoulder like Priscilla had done to Joseph, and dropped the softest of kisses where her mouth was smushed against his coat. She hoped that he didn't notice.

* * *

He did notice.

"I am never washing this coat again," Fred announced to George in the car ride home.

George simply smirked. "Young love. Makes you bonkers."

Ginny and Ron both laughed at this, and Fred just smiled a little and remembered how Aurelia had fit just right in his arms.

* * *

**Oh yay, we have Aurelia going into third year! I'm so happy and excited...**

**Another reminder to check out my profile for the poll after leaving a review.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	34. Summer: Prettier Than Usual and Burglars

**I wanted to start by thanking _flawsmadebeautiful _and _Tea Party of Madness_, who have been nothing but supportive. **

**I'm certain that if you're waiting for Fred/Aurelia, you unfortunately won't be seeing much more of it for a while. Just a heads-up so that you won't be unexpectedly disappointed, because we have quite a bit more until they'll get together.**

**Hope you like this chapter! I tried to make it a bit longer than usual.**

* * *

"Dad?" came a trembling voice.

Remus, being a sympathetic guardian at any time but the middle of the night, pulled the pillow over his head.

"Dad?" came the voice again.

All that Remus had managed to do was get a faceful of mattress. Giving in, he raised his head sleepily and mumbled, "Whadizit?"

"Dad? There's someone downstairs."

"Harry, this is an inn, not our house. It's probably just a guest. Go back to sleep."

"But what if it's a burglar?"

"Then you can lock the door." Remus wasn't even sure if the doors had locks, but maybe this would make Harry go away so he could have some rest.

"Do the doors have locks?"

"_Yes,_ Harry, the doors have locks. Go back to sleep."

"Okay." Remus heard Harry's footsteps out of the room, and then his footsteps came back.

"What is it now, Harry?"

"Dad, the doors don't have locks."

Remus groaned. "All right, fine, here's what we'll do. I'll get up with you and see who's downstairs."

"Okay," said Harry again, and then, "Dad, aren't you going to get up?"

"Yes, give me a moment." Remus reluctantly pulled himself out of bed and grabbed his dressing gown from the hook. "Come on, Prongslet."

Harry followed Remus down two flights of stairs before saying in a very high voice, "Dad, if it's this dark we won't see them coming at us."

Remus sighed. "Come on, let's go get a flashlight."

They walked back up the first flight and were halfway up the second when Harry suddenly stated, "Never mind, I can see better now."

Remus groaned. "Are you sure, Harry?"

"Positive. Will you come back down with me?"

"Fine."

But after they'd walked down three flights of stairs Harry burst out, "It's really scary down here, Dad," and hid his face in Remus' dressing gown. Remus took this as a sign to go upstairs and get a flashlight. So they walked back up the stairs to the bedroom, and turned on the light to look for a flashlight.

"EEK!" shrieked a voice. Remus had forgotten that Aurelia was sleeping on the couch.

"Sorry Eel!" gasped Harry as his sister sat up and glared at him resentfully. "Sorry! I heard someone downstairs, they might've been a burglar-"

Remus cringed. Aurelia, like her father, had a flair for the dramatics.

"A BURGLAR?" shrieked Aurelia at the top of her lungs. "OH MY GOD!"

There came a yelp from the other bedroom, and Minerva came sprinting out with her graying hair in a loose braid and a tartan nightgown fluttering around her ankles.

"Aura!" she reprimanded angrily as soon as she realized that everyone was all right. "What on earth were you thinking?"

"Prongslet said there's a burglar downstairs and it's plausible that he could be a serial killer too and WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" Aurelia cried dramatically, flopping back onto the couch.

"A serial killer?" said Harry in a panicky voice. "I don't want to die!"

"Oh for the love of-I JUST WANT SOME SLEEP!" roared Remus, his patience finally at an end.

"What in Merlin's name is going on in here?" demanded Minerva furiously.

Remus, Aurelia, and Harry all looked at each other before realizing that none of them had any idea what was going on.

"Can I have a Chocolate Frog so that my heart doesn't explode from shock of being woken up at midnight?" asked Aurelia innocently.

Minerva sighed. "We've probably woken the entire inn by this point. Come on. I think we should go outside."

"Outside?" asked Harry, sounding utterly bewildered. "But it's midnight!"

"Actually, it's 3:12," commented Remus, glancing at the clock hanging above the sofa. "And I think we need to give the inn a break. Harry, why did you think there was someone downstairs?"

"I heard noises-"

"Oh," said Aurelia guiltily. "Oh, um, that was actually me getting a Chocolate Frog."

"Damnit, Aurelia," muttered Remus. "Six months without you and the first thing you do is cause everyone havoc."

There was silence for a moment.

Then Minerva chuckled.

Which caused Aurelia to giggle, which made Harry laugh, which made Remus smile, until all of them were roaring with laughter at the utter stupidity of all of them standing in a small inn room at three in the morning.

"Come on," said Minerva again, taking Aurelia's hand. "I think we need to do something ridiculous, don't you?"

"Yeah!" shouted Harry. "And let's not wear shoes! Or jackets!"

"Well-" began Minerva, but Remus and Aurelia were already grinning in agreement.

"You _did _say do something stupid," Aurelia reminded her.

Minerva laughed softly. "Touche."

* * *

The inn door creaked as they carefully shut it and stepped out onto the grass. Aurelia gave a little squeak at the coolness of the grass on her toes, and Harry smiled up at the moon.

"I can't see you," said Aurelia a little shakily.

In response, Remus took her hand in his and squeezed it, so that she wouldn't lose him in the darkness. He remembered that she wasn't wearing glasses, so everything seemed five times darker to her.

Harry took Aurelia's other hand, and Minerva took Harry's free hand. The four of them just stood there outside the inn for a moment, relishing the night air and the sound of crickets, before Aurelia tugged them away from the inn and they began to walk.

It was a wonderful feeling for Aurelia, who hadn't had a moment of unplanned silliness since the previous summer. Even Hogwarts could feel confining at times.

It was an amazing feeling for Remus, who had never felt such a sense of belonging since Halloween of 1981. That hellish Halloween.

It was a sweet feeling for Harry, who had missed his sister and was learning to love Min. Even if he didn't know her as well as he knew Aurelia.

It was a lovely feeling for Minerva, who was happy to see Aurelia so joyful and amazed at how naturally Harry and Remus fit into her family.

Harry broke the contemplative silence by sneezing loudly. Aurelia responded to his sneeze with a gleeful giggle, and Remus realized that he didn't really want to go back to sleep at all.

* * *

Of course, the next morning, when he woke up because Harry had jumped on top of him (an annoying habit he'd developed in early April when Remus didn't get up as quickly as expected) and he was tired from running around for two hours and taking a two-hour nap, his views were slightly different.

"Gerroff," mumbled Remus into the pillow.

"Morning!" replied Harry gaily, jumping down onto the floor. "Min says you're going to miss breakfast if you sleep in. It's nearly ten!"

Okay, so maybe he slept for _four _hours. Same thing.

"And they have marmalade downstairs, and Aurelia put loads on her waffle and now she doesn't want to eat it, and Min needs your help trying to Vanish the waffle where no one will see it, because no one wants to eat a waffle with _that _much marmalade."

Remus smiled. His smile got squashed by the pillow. He turned over onto his back and sat up, yawning before getting out of bed and slipping on a pair of shoes and his dressing gown.

Minerva and Aurelia were already downstairs, the latter staring distastefully at a small pile of marmalade topping a Belgian waffle. When Remus saw this his mouth quirked up at the corner. No one could make faces like Aurelia.

Aurelia looked up in surprise. "Morning, Moony! Took you long enough. Say, have you ever noticed how appealing marmalade is? Its orange hue and its lovely flecks of citrus peel? Um...try a bit of marmalade with a lovely Belgian waffle and your taste buds will never be the same!"

"Don't listen to her," Minerva muttered as Remus sat down. "When she says that your taste buds will be permanently altered, she doesn't mean it in a good way."

"Mum!" groaned Aurelia. "I almost had him."

Remus smiled at this. "I'll have it, actually."

"Oh thank Merlin," breathed Aurelia in relief. "I was starting to think that I'd have to actually _eat _some of it." Remus suddenly found a desire to order his own breakfast and also not look at the enormous globs of marmalade now dripping off Aurelia's waffle onto her plate.

Aurelia managed to scrape off most of the marmalade onto her plate and put honey on instead. She didn't really like the waffle that much, mostly because the marmalade had soaked into it and made it horribly tart. Harry, on the other hand, had gotten pancakes, and so didn't have to worry about marmalade anyway. He was perfectly happy to share (after a good deal of wheedling from his sister) about half of his breakfast with her. This very nearly became an argument, but thankfully Remus defused it by reminding the children that they needed to be ready to go over to the Weasleys' at noon.

The reason that they weren't using Floo powder was that Minerva was running low, and wanted to wait until August to buy more. That way they could pick it up with the rest of Harry's school things. They weren't Apparating to the Burrow, either, seeing as Harry reacted negatively to Side-Along-Apparition and he was really too young for it anyway.

They'd driven the entire way to the inn, and it had been hard on everyone. Discoveries made during the trip included Minerva's claustrophobia, Remus' inability to drive straight, Aurelia's excited shout at any life form they passed, and Harry hanging out the window and staring at everything. Every single person in the car had been annoyed by the others.

At the end of the trip Remus had screeched to a stop outside the inn and yelled, "IF ANYONE THINKS THAT WE ARE DOING THAT AGAIN, THEY ARE SADLY MISTAKEN, BECAUSE I AM NEVER GETTING BACK INTO THAT VEHICLE FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE."

Aurelia and Harry had found this both amusing and terrifying.

Aurelia kept on thinking about Fred, who had suddenly grown up a bit more, and due to this she combed out her hair and braided it loosely, draping the braid over her shoulder. Then she spent five minutes on trying to figure out which of two t-shirts to wear and squeezed her feet into the old blue satin slippers Fred had given her.

She looked prettier than usual, she finally decided. Prettier than usual.

* * *

_Prettier than usual, prettier than usual, prettier than usual,_ Aurelia chanted in her head as she walked out of the inn. _Prettier than usual, prettier than usual, prettier than usual._

She was so preoccupied in her chant that she banged straight into the doorframe while entering the Burrow, so hard that she fell over backward. Minerva, Remus, and Harry had already gone in, but she hadn't, and because of this only one person saw her fall into the mud.

Aurelia sat up, her head spinning. Her glasses had been knocked off her head, and she could sort of make them out over by a stump.

Someone's hand took hers and pulled her up. Someone stared at her for a moment before asking a little nervously, "Are you all right?"

Aurelia looked up at a redheaded boy who she could tell (even without her glasses) was most definitely not Fred Gideon Weasley.

* * *

**I have no idea where I am taking this story. It's making all of these twists and turns that I don't understand at all.**

**Any reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm (it would've been The Eccentric Bookworm until someone pointed out that Eclectic had a more positive connotation)**


	35. Summer: Evolving Backwards and Jealousy

**So I took a bit with this chapter seeing as it was rather difficult for me to write, ever so sorry about that...**

* * *

"My glasses," said Aurelia thickly, raising a hand to her head. "Did you see-"

The boy nodded. "Hang on. Stay here for a moment."

"I just got hit in the face by a bloody _door frame, _and you're telling me to stay put?" muttered Aurelia. "That'll be a picnic."

She felt the boy take her hand again, only this time he was holding-

"My glasses!" Aurelia snatched them and placed them on the bridge of her nose. "Thanks."

She could now see very clearly that Percy Weasley was standing in front of her, looking a little uncertain as to what he was doing there.

"Hi, Percy," she added on with a shy smile. Percy wasn't Fred's favorite brother. Due to this she'd never really met him.

"Hello," replied Percy awkwardly. "Was there any particular reason you decided to walk into a door frame?"

"I was rather preoccupied," said Aurelia, and as usual her mouth started talking without aid of her brain. "Have you heard of evolution? Sometimes I think I'm evolving backwards. Not being able to see something right in front of me could be classified as apelike. Although apes _do _see door frames and manage to avoid not walking into them. So I guess I'm not as smart as an ape. D'you think apes will do well in Arithmancy? I signed up for Arithmancy, and I'm certain my performance will be apelike-Oh Merlin!" She clamped both her hands over her mouth in horror.

Percy was staring dazedly at her as if he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. When she stopped talking he smiled a little and responded, "That's quite all right. Most girls I know have next to no idea what evolution is. Science isn't really touched upon in the wizarding world, and the only reason I know something about it myself is because I read up about it in the school library."

"I know!" Aurelia said eagerly, taking a step closer to Percy, her eyes alight with excitement. "It's utterly horrible, isn't it, how the Muggles do lots of discovering and most wizards don't bother to learn about it? I've only read up on evolution because my friend Priscilla mentioned something about it."

"You should really read more, you know. There's a whole section in the library. Only reason it's there is because Dumbledore wants it, I always hear Madam Pince complaining about 'Muggle nonsense defiling my library' and the like."

"Ha, read more? I read all the time! Mostly fiction, though."

"I think that maybe you should branch out. Would you like me to lend you a book? Science is my personal hobby, actually. I don't know if Fred told you-"

"Fred doesn't talk about you much, actually," Aurelia interrupted.

"Ah. Am I right in assuming that you are Aurelia?"

"Yeah," replied Aurelia breathlessly. "Yeah, that's me."

"I hope you aren't too hurt?" Percy asked. "It looked rather painful when you walked into the door frame."

"No, I'm an idiot a lot of the time. I'll probably fall down a set of stairs this summer. Last time I did that, I was probably ten or so."

"Good to know. Would you like to come inside, see if you can get the mud off?"

"Mud-oh damn! Mum's going to kill me."

"Come on in." Percy stepped inside the house. When Aurelia didn't follow, he asked quietly, "Scared of the door frame?"

Aurelia laughed. "Possibly."

"Here." Percy took her hand and tugged her inside. Aurelia's stomach leaped in a not at all unpleasant manner.

* * *

Fred was sitting at the kitchen table, wondering when Aurelia would come in, when he was met with an unpleasant surprise. Percy, with a funny little grin on his face, tugging a mud-covered Aurelia into the kitchen.

"Oi, Fred!" said Aurelia eagerly. "How was the brief time we went without seeing each other?"

Fred stared at Aurelia's muddy hand, which Percy didn't seem to be letting go of, and replied flatly, "Fine."

"Is something wrong?" asked Aurelia, eagerness dissolving. "Are you okay?"

"He bounces back, he should be fine in a bit," replied Percy crisply. "Do you want to try and get the mud off?"

"Okay," said Aurelia sadly, glancing at Fred. She must've been mistaken, she must've read the signs wrong. Fred didn't fancy her at all. He must have thought she was _so weird _for holding his hand that long…

Percy handed her a washcloth, which she took, relieved. The sound of Minerva and Molly talking happily from the living room seemed to be the only sound in the room for a while as Aurelia splashed her face with water and polished her glasses.

Finally mud-free, she glanced up hopefully. "So, Fred, d'you want to go play Quidditch out-oh. I left my broom at my house. Oh well. Maybe we could-"

"I'm actually quite _busy_," said Fred icily. "Maybe _Percy_ can show you around."

"Well-" began Aurelia, her face falling.

"Sure," said Percy. "Come on-you might be interested in some of my books on the cell theory."

"Oh," replied Aurelia very softly, following Percy with one last look at Fred.

As soon as she was gone, Fred kicked the table very hard. Why couldn't Aurelia stop being an idiot for once and figure out he was jealous of Percy, instead of going off with Percy and making everything worse?

* * *

"Cell theory," said Percy. "It states that all living organisms are made of cells, the cell is the most basic unit of life, and a cell is created from other living cells."

Aurelia leaned forward to stare at the book. "That's actually pretty cool. Why d'you think nobody's interested in learning about Muggle science?"

"Possibly because it isn't constructive to any career. Myself, I plan to learn all I can now before my time is taken up with whichever job I will get at the Ministry, hopefully in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"At least _you _have realistic goals," Aurelia sighed. "I have no clue what I want to do in life. Maybe I could be a professor at Hogwarts or a-um-it's silly. Never mind."

"What my mum used to tell me," said Percy very softly, "is that there are very few job aspirations that are silly. Something unsteady and unstable-if it gives you joy, I think you should go for it."

He'd really only said it to make Aurelia smile, because of _course _he didn't believe it. But the joyful grin she gave him, coupled with her sparkling brown eyes and her glasses now askew on her nose, made his heart flip-flop.

* * *

_Dear Priscilla,_

_Emotions are rather complex things, aren't they? For example, I could have sworn I fancied Fred and he fancied me back, but now I've gone and complicated things majorly. Did you know that Percy isn't that bad? I mean, aside from the fact that he really doesn't seem to get along with Fred well at all. And he's got a really nice smile. AAARGH. I feel fickle and awful. Lucky that Fred didn't know I fancied him. He isn't talking to me at all now. I don't really understand why. It's especially awful seeing as we're visiting the Weasleys constantly and he always looks away when I try to talk to him._

_I do like Percy though. A lot. And so that I don't feel like a bloody awful friend, how are things going with Joseph? I really do want to know._

_Love,_

_Your Confuzzled Friend Aurelia_

* * *

_Dear My Confuzzled Friend Aurelia,_

_You are quite the idiot. However, if you think you fancy Percy then I shall not intervene, except to tell you that I am certain Fred fancies you. I bet that if you just walk up to him and kiss him he'll melt into your arms. Like in all those sappy romance novels you read._

_I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I've been writing to Joseph a lot. Did you know that his mum works in the Ministry? Under the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, actually. She's got a pretty high position. I was very impressed._

_Percy is rather cute, though. I'm sure that you and he can get along...reasonably well...oh Mon Dieu. What on earth do you two share an interest in?_

_Love,_

_Your Amused/Amazed Friend Priscilla_

* * *

Aurelia glared hatefully at the letter, mostly because there had been absolutely nothing constructive in there about Percy. No advice, no nothing, except for the suggestion of walking up to Fred and kissing him.

Which she had no intention of doing.

It seemed rather odd, especially for Priscilla, who always had some sort of useful insight into Aurelia's problems. Aurelia finally decided that her friend was having an off day and left it at that.

"So, chemistry," said Aurelia, folding Priscilla's letter and looking up at Percy. "What are the basics?"

Percy gave her an amused look and responded, "First of all, there's the periodic table of elements."

"What are elements? Like elements in writing, or something else entirely?" Aurelia glanced over the book in Percy's lap. "Hydrogen...helium...something else entirely, I take it."

"Quite."

They were sitting in the overgrown garden, propped up against a large and shady tree. Percy somehow managed to make it look dignified. Aurelia didn't, because she was too busy being conscious of how their shoulders were nearly touching.

"Okay. So. What are elements?"

"They make up everything."

This wasn't what Aurelia had been expecting. "Wait, _everything _everything? I thought you said _cells_ make up living beings!"

Percy laughed, and Aurelia smiled too, a little hesitantly. "No. Cells are made of elements."

"Oh. You could've clarified."

"I always forget how little-known a field science is. It really isn't covered much at Hogwarts."

"There are books in the library, though, right?"

"Yeah. You're going into what, third year?"

"My birthday's in October, though, so I always feel like I should be in fourth." Percy laughed at this statement, and Aurelia responded by adding on an indignant "What?".

"My fifteenth birthday is in August. Really we're only one year apart."

Aurelia laughed too. "I can't believe it! Oh, you know that Mum plans to make you Prefect?"

Percy froze, then grinned broadly. "Excellent. Finally able to stop wrongdoers."

"You'll be like a resident superhero then!" teased Aurelia with a giggle.

Percy laughed in an almost forced manner, then she laughed joyously, then they were laughing together, elements forgotten, her head resting on his shoulder and a fluttery lightness in her heart.

* * *

**Aaargh. I don't want to write Aurelia/anyone but Fred, but I have to. What fun would it be if they ended up together straight off?**

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm (who is having-what's the word?-****_qualms_**** about doing this. I think quoting yourself is bad form. Oh well.)**


	36. Summer: Ninja Kisses and Intimate Ankles

**I just know you'll love this chapter.**

* * *

"_On three, all right?" breathed Aurelia._

"_Why are we doing this again?" replied Harry out of the corner of his mouth. "Seems like a suicide mission."_

"_Shut up. We wouldn't be out here if Moony had vouched for me last night during my...unfortunate incident-"_

"_You fell down the stairs on purpose and woke everyone up! So what if he didn't think you should have your book for a week?"_

"_Harry, I never said that this was reasonable. I said that he didn't vouch for me." Aurelia's eyes sparkled eagerly. "One, two, three!"_

_The siblings banged the door to Remus' bedroom open and barged in. As they'd expected, Remus jerked his head off the pillow to stare at them angrily._

"_Aurelia-"_

_Aurelia and Harry broke into song._

"_Good morning to you, Moony,_

_We hope you like the show,_

_We should be leaving soon-y,_

_And now we have to go!"_

_Harry bowed and Aurelia curtsied with an added "This four-thirty showing could have been prevented if you had given Aurelia Lily Potter free rein to read her book at midnight, twelve-thirty, twelve-forty five, or whatever time she-"_

"_Get out of my room," snapped Remus in an irritated voice. "I will deal with this in the morning."_

_Aurelia and Harry glanced at each other, and then the former sang even louder._

"_GOOD MORNING-"_

_Harry hastily dragged his sister out of the bedroom before Remus could reach her._

* * *

"And that's why I didn't show up for the last week," Aurelia concluded dramatically, leaning against the tree. Percy was smiling in a disinterested fashion by now, and she added hopefully, "I did that every day last week until Moony caved and gave me the book."

"But didn't you lose your book for a week? He was supposed to give you the book anyway."

"Ah. That would explain why he caved so quickly."

Percy nodded distantly. "I don't think I have ever met anyone quite like you."

A rosy blush found its way to Aurelia's cheeks and she decided not to say anything.

She'd used her pocket money to owl-order more Floo powder, and now they were over at the Weasleys' nearly every day. The fact that Fred was now giving her the silent treatment stung a little, but it helped that Percy seemed almost eager to get to know her better.

At this moment, during the awkward silence, Harry and Ron came charging outside with water guns.

"GET THE ALIENS!" bellowed Ron, and the boys proceeded to spray Aurelia and Percy with awful-smelling water that got all over Aurelia's glasses.

"Ew!" Aurelia tried to say, but ended up getting a mouthful of water.

Now, in any other circumstance Aurelia would have been more lenient with her brother. But a boy had just made a possible declaration of love to her and what did she get right afterwards? Foul water in her mouth.

Aurelia spat out the water and snatched the water gun from Harry. "You _pest!_ What the hell is wrong with you?"

Harry looked equally mad and made a grab for the water gun. In retaliation, Aurelia held it higher-

A gust of wind picked Aurelia up off her feet and planted her in the highest branch of the tree she and Percy had been sitting under. The water gun fell harmlessly out of her arms.

Aurelia screeched something rather profane and placed her hands on the branch in an attempt to balance, a bout of dizziness overcoming her.

She couldn't _stand _heights. Oh, the normal run-of-the-mill tree was fun to climb for her, but she was desperately afraid of being at the top of _this _one, which was quite far from the ground. She hadn't even known she was afraid until right now.

Percy ran up to the tree. "You okay up there?" he called nervously.

"No!" screamed Aurelia. "Get me down!"

Harry stared up at her angrily, but his anger dissolved when he realized how scared Aurelia was. "Eel?" he shouted hesitantly up. "Eel, I think that was me, I think that was my accidental magic. I didn't mean to put you in that tree, Eel. I'm really sorry."

"WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING?" hollered Percy furiously, making Harry flinch. "YOU HAVE PUT YOUR SISTER IN PERIL!"

"Percy," said Ron reasonably, "Mum can just levitate her down."

Aurelia squeezed her eyes tightly shut and yelled, "Can we have this conversation when I'm on the ground?"

"Try jumping?" suggested Ron, and at the nasty looks his comment prompted from Harry and Percy, he responded, "What? It might work."

"I'll get Mum," said Percy. "Stay here-"

He hurried away across the backyard.

"Percy, wait, don't-" called Aurelia desperately, and then she froze. Because it had _finally _hit her that she didn't like Percy at all. She didn't like that he so easily agreed with her and he was so quick to bellow at her brother and that he was so willing to bend if it would make her happy.

"Damnit, Potter, you idiot," she muttered.

Aurelia then felt arms around her and someone tugging her gently backward. She didn't open her eyes, figuring her senses were misleading her, until someone breathed in her ear, "Getting in a lot of trouble, aren't we, Aury-pie?"

Aurelia's eyes flew open and she turned her head very slowly. Fred was sitting on a branch slightly lower than hers, looking particularly pleased with himself.

"How did you-"

"This is my tree. I climb it a lot. Just so happened I was climbing it now-George left his ingredients up here, he's waiting for me in the bedroom-when your brother placed you here."

"Ingredients for what?"

"Joke shop stuff. Do I need to elaborate?"

The gentle quirkiness Fred possesed made Aurelia burst into tears and bury her face in Fred's shoulder, completely throwing her brave and cavalier attitude out the window. "I want to go _down,_ Fred," she wailed.

Fred, who was completely taken aback by the way courageous Aurelia was acting, replied calmly that they'd go down right now.

"We aren't _moving," _Aurelia sniffled.

"Easy with the tears. Save it for when we're actually falling to our doom, okay?"

"No."

Fred laughed softly. "Hey. I climbed this tree for most of my life and only fell a few times. All back when I was five. Okay?" Aurelia managed a nod and leaned down to wrap her arms around Fred, who was grinning fit to burst. Only barely keeping calm, he managed to add, "Aury-pie, I can't _climb _if you're holding on to me."

"I don't want to go anywhere. Percy said he was getting your mum."

"Mum'll take a bit. She might be mad right now, and then Percy has to wait out the rant."

"Can you stay with me?"

Fred smiled hugely. "All right-here-" He pulled her a bit closer into a hug and down onto the branch with him-and began to talk very softly. "You know Charlie's afraid of heights too?"

"He is?"

"Yeah. 'Course, he had to get over it, since dragons generally live in high places. Charlie's just left for Romania, you know."

"Romania. Do they have Quidditch there?"

"I dunno. Aurelia, why are you afraid of being up in a tree but not up on a broom?"

"I can control brooms," said Aurelia in a tiny voice. "Tree branches can break."

"Mm." Fred rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Keep talking," Aurelia whispered.

"Okay. So Charlie applied last year, and it took him forever to see if he could get good enough grades on his NEWTs to get in."

"But he got in."

"Yeah. He got in and Mum was really pleased with him. We're having a party next week. Maybe you could come."

"Th-that'd be nice."

"I think I'll ask Mum about chocolate cake. D'you like chocolate cake?"

"I like red velvet cake."

"Eurgh. That's weird. I bet they put paint in it to make it red."

"No. I bet it's a charm."

"Then how do the Muggles make red velvet cake? Hmm?"

"I only eat wizard-made red velvet cake."

"Now that is a phrase that is going into our scrapbook, Aury. _I only eat wizard-made red velvet cake._ Priceless."

Aurelia wasn't sure why she said what she did next. Maybe it was the fact that Fred was staying with her and making her feel safe. Maybe it was his sweet jokes, and maybe it was just the fact that he was holding her so carefully and so... lovingly, almost. But she never regretted breathing out a soft,"I fancy you."

Fred very promptly lost his balance and fell off the branch, just managing to grab onto a lower one with the tips of his fingers. Aurelia gave a shriek and grabbed his free hand, trying to hoist him up. He found a foothold and sprang up to the top branch, his face pale and an enormous smile on his face.

"Right-well-yeah. I-yeah."

Aurelia quickly replaced worry with anger by snapping, "Fred, don't _ever _fall out of a tree again!"

"I swear that you shall never see me do it."

"That means literally nothing," chided Aurelia in a brief return to her old self, before tacking on, "I really didn't mean to say that I fancied you.."

"Did you mean it when you said it? Or did you say it in hopes that you could mean it?"

Aurelia gave a little sigh. "I did mean it. That's the-"

Fred kissed her.

Aurelia fell backwards off the tree branch. Fred, who was holding onto her, once again proved that he _had _been climbing trees for awhile and hooked his knees around a branch (she followed his example) so that they were dangling upside down.

He kept on kissing her. His lips were rather dry, and she was scared for her life, and she really missed the ground, but the strongest emotion she was feeling was utter elation.

And this kiss felt _excellent._

Not that Aurelia had much experience with kissing or being kissed. This was her first, actually, but most definitely her best. His arms were around her and his ankle had sort of twisted around hers intimately (intimate ankles, she rather liked that.) and her heart was pounding-

* * *

She pulled her lips away from his and stared at him incredulously. "_Fred."_

Fred glared at her playfully. "It's your fault, you know. You shouldn't have fallen over backwards. That was bloody stupid."

"You're the one who-who _ninja-kissed _me!"

Fred started laughing so hard that the tree branch shook. Aurelia gave a little yelp and clutched him even more.

"Where are your glasses?" Fred pointed out.

Aurelia groaned. "Screw my glasses, Fred, you bloody _ninja-kissed _me. And I think I deserve payback."

"All right. As soon as we get down from this tree. But where are your-"

Aurelia started to giggle and pointed down to the ground, keeping her other arm around Fred. Her glasses lay on the grass below them.

Fred laughed as well. "Okay. What sort of payback-"

Aurelia kissed _him _this time around before suddenly pulling away and glaring at him. "You've been giving me the silent treatment for nearly two weeks!"

"Yeah. Well. I don't like Percy. He's two-faced. Bet he told you that you should go for your dreams? My dream is to open a joke shop and not once has he taken it seriously."

Aurelia gave a little sigh. "I'm an idiot."

"What sort of payback-"

"I sort of just wanted another kiss."

"Really. You think that little of me." Fred smirked. "I'd snog you upside down in a tree, with the blood rushing to my head and you having antigravitational hair, and you think I wouldn't want to do it again?"

Aurelia went into fits of giggles at this point, which lasted up until five minutes before Minerva and Molly came racing out into the backyard. Thankfully, Fred had pulled away from their seventh kiss in time to grin down and call, "Oi, we're up here!"

* * *

"So basically," said Aurelia in an annoyed voice, "we got stuck in the tree because Percy got a letter from one of his friends and forgot about us."

"It was an _important letter!_" snapped Percy. "_Honestly!_"  
Aurelia ignored him, and instead asked Remus, "Can I stay a bit longer?"

Remus smiled slightly. "You _are _coming back tomorrow, you know."

"Fine." Aurelia then proceeded to astonish both the Weasley family and the McGonagall-Lupin-Potter family, walking straight up to Fred and kissing him softly on the lips as a see-you-tomorrow goodbye. And it was just like Priscilla had predicted.

He melted into her arms.

* * *

**OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH! See, this proves I know absolutely nothing about my own story. "You won't be seeing any Aurelia/Fred fluff for a while". I need to stop thinking I know where this story is going. Smiled the whole time I was writing this. And considering I've composed their first kiss a hundred different ways in my head, I think it's excellent that I'm satisfied with this one.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm (who had to try REALLY HARD not to drop any spoilers at the top of the page)**


	37. Summer: Padfoot's Predicament (Part One)

**Wow, I feel awful for not updating, but I had a weeklong camp and writer's block and stuff, so hopefully you'll forgive me.**

**This chapter's sort of a two-parter. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"And McGonagall swerves dramatically! Passes Weasley and Weasley, still clutching the Quaffle-_Oh Merlin_ that was close! This all-houses-versus-Ravenclaw game could be dangerous for-"

"Aura, would you kindly stop messing around and get dressed to go to Diagon Alley?" called Minerva in an annoyed voice.

"I shall _not!_" shouted Aurelia back. "_I would like to stay home!_"

"Maybe you'll see Fred there," sang Harry mischievously from downstairs. Aurelia responded to this by racing down the stairs in her pajamas and telling Harry to go Floo to Antarctica and freeze to death. Harry rolled his eyes and watched her hurry back up the stairs to comb her hair for the fifth time before turning back to the _Prophet._ He'd taken to reading it now and then, mostly because Remus talked about the news a lot and he wanted to be able to carry on an intelligent conversation.

Minerva hurried in with a large bag slung over her shoulder and her hair in a slightly loose bun. "Harry, I've packed a lunch-"

"Could we go out for ice cream?" asked Harry excitedly, carelessly tossing the _Prophet _onto a coffee table.

There was a scuffle from upstairs, then a loud thump (presumably Aurelia tripping over her own feet) and finally Aurelia, fully dressed, came hurtling downstairs with a demand of, "Yeah, Mum, could we?"

Minerva smirked. "I rather enjoy the looks on your faces right now. Yes, since it is Harry's first time shopping for school supplies, we shall go out for ice cream."

Aurelia gave a shriek of delight and Harry grinned broadly. Minerva and Remus caught each other's eye and grinned a little.

* * *

"Ooooh, owls! Mum, does Harry get an owl?" giggled Aurelia, pausing by Eyelops' Owl Emporium.

Minerva tugged her daughter along, responding, "Aurelia, not right now. We are starting with his spellbooks."

"Quality Quidditch Supplies! Dad, can I get that broom compass?" cried Harry happily, hurrying over to the other side of the street to press his nose against the shop window.

"Harry, we're going to Flourish and Blotts first. Hold off on that until later, can't you?" replied Remus, gently towing the boy away from the store.

"Fred!" gasped Aurelia, her hands flying to her mouth.

The Weasleys were hurrying up to them, Fred with a dizzy smile on his face and Ron looking slightly crestfallen and clutching a slumbering rat.

Fred hurried over to Aurelia and hugged her, letting go with a grin. "You're almost as tall as me!"

Aurelia punched him in the arm, a sparkle in her eyes. "You stupid bugger, I'm two inches taller than you."

"Wishful thinking," replied Fred with a smirk before giving her a daring kiss on the cheek. When he pulled away, there was a rosy blush dusting Aurelia's cheeks and a happy little grin on her face.

Minerva turned to Mrs. Weasley. "We were just heading over for schoolbooks, maybe you'd like to join us?"

"The more the merrier!" replied Mrs. Weasley happily. "Arthur and I haven't bought Ron's books yet either."

Harry grinned at Ron, then tugged on Minerva's sleeve. "Min, can Ron and I go into Quality-"

"Later," replied Minerva a little waspishly. "You need your books, your wand, and an owl."

"YES!" shouted Aurelia in response, punching the air. "I LOVE Eyelops! It's wicked to look at all of the owls!"

Fred laughed and grabbed her hand. "Come on, I bet you haven't seen, they've got a new Hester Prime book out!"

He then took off at a run, ignoring Aurelia's halfhearted protests of "Slow down, Fred, I can't keep up!"

Minerva's eyes twinkled slightly.. "It's rather odd to see Aurelia like this."

"I know what you mean," sighed Mrs. Weasley. "Fred's never had a girlfriend before, and I suppose this means he's growing up."

The two women got into a long conversation about raising hyperactive thirteen-year-olds, and Remus lagged behind to talk with Harry and Ron.

"Ron," he began, intending to chat about the Cannons (who, incidentally, were still ninth in the league), but suddenly he stopped and stared incredulously at the rat.

"May I see that rat?" he asked, a strange feeling in his stomach.

_Peter's dead. It's impossible. There's no way it could be him._

Ron shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Scabbers was Percy's, but now he has his owl 'cause he's a prefect and I get him."

"Ron-how long have you had Scabbers?"

"I dunno-ten years, I think, Percy's had him since I was real small."

"Ron, I need to borrow Scabbers for a bit," said Remus distantly. "I need to see something."

Ron shrugged. "I guess. Don't know what you'll want with him. He's pretty boring."

Remus forced a laugh, and then examined the rat. Same markings, same everything, but a toe missing. A toe. Why was there something off about that?

"Aurelia?" he called. All of the Marauders had transformed sometimes to play with her when she was small, and if anyone would recognize Peter than it would be Aurelia.

Aurelia, who was standing outside Flourish and Blotts, hurried over with a bewildered look on her face.

"What is it?" she asked. "I don't think I did anything wrong-"

Her eyes fell on the rat,and Remus knew that he wasn't just imagining things. Aurelia smiled broadly.

"_Wormy!_" she squealed. The rat gave a terrific jump and stared at Aurelia with Peter's fidgety gaze.

Remus swallowed, and muttered, "Petrificus Totalus," freezing the rat before it could attempt to escape.

"Oi!" said Ron angrily. "What d'you think you're doing with my rat?"

"That's just it, I don't think that he is a rat," replied Remus very fast. "I need to go to the Ministry."

"What is he, then?" demanded Ron, his eyes narrowed. "Why'd you go and hex him?"

"I need to go to the Ministry," echoed Remus distantly. "And Aurelia needs to come with me."

"Wh-" began Aurelia, but Remus cut her off with a, "Minerva, you have the school list. I need to do something. Aurelia has to come with me. Happy shopping."

He then grabbed Aurelia's arm and Disapparated.

"What on earth?" gasped Minerva.

"_My rat!" _howled Ron.

* * *

Aurelia staggered away from Remus, nearly bumping into one of the fireplaces set up for witches and wizards to come through into the Atrium. "What the hell was that all about?" she snapped. "I know it's nice to see Wormy, but-"

"That's not it, Aurelia, he's supposed to be dead," Remus responded. "We need to talk to the Minister. There is an innocent man in Azkaban, and it may very well be my fault. I presented the evidence, I told what I knew, I-"

Aurelia held up a hand. "Hold on. Who exactly is the innocent man?"

"Sirius Black."

* * *

**YAY SIRIUS YAY! So excited to see him soon!**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm (who is really sorry she couldn't write more for this chapter, but promises a new one soon!)**


	38. Summer: Padfoot's Predicament (Part Two)

**Phew, this was a long chapter! (For me, anyway, but not for the really good writers. I do my best.) I hope it'll make up for the last one being so short.**

* * *

Aurelia said "_Fuck!" _very loudly, startling a handful of witches and wizards, and causing Remus to glare at her ferociously.

"Was it a mistake to bring you here?" he demanded. "Are you going to spout profanity and-"

"I'm sorry, Moony, honest!" breathed Aurelia, who had turned the color of the sort of parchment she wrote stories on. "You've got to understand, though, it's rather a shock for me! _Why didn't you tell me sooner?_"

"I wanted to protect you," replied Remus ever so softly, taking Aurelia's shaking hand in his own. "I wanted you to stay a child, I wanted you not to know that there are turncoats and traitors out there, and I wanted to save you from the grief you'd feel over someone who I thought did not deserve it. I love you, doe, and I don't want to see you hurt."

Aurelia started to cry. Not soft and graceful sobs, sobs that shook her whole body and made her cheeks flush and her nose run and her eyes blotchy. Remus sank down to his knees and pulled her with him, burying her face in his shoulder. They stayed like that for awhile until Aurelia's sobs subsided to sniffles, and Remus gently pulled her up and said, "Right. Let's go find the Minister."

* * *

Cornelius Fudge was sitting in his office with a cup of tea balanced precariously on a stack of pamphlets and a sheaf of papers in front of him that he was scrutinizing carefully. A knock on his door brought him out of the Department Of Magical Games and Sports' formal request for the coming World Cup to be moved from Transylvania to Ireland.

"Come in," he called, pushing the paper away and taking a sip from his cup of tea.

Two people hurried in, one of them clutching a Petrified rat. The Minister's eyes fell first on Remus, then on a hysterical-looking Aurelia, and finally the rat, before demanding, "Is this some sort of joke?"

"Not a joke at all, Minister, you see, we've found some evidence concerning Sirius Black."

"And what of him?" asked Fudge.

"Sir-Minister Fudge-why exactly was Pad-I mean Black-put into Azkaban in the first place?" asked Aurelia tentatively.

Fudge looked both surprised and slightly annoyed. "You mean you don't know? Black was a madman who killed the wizard Peter Pettigrew as well as twelve Muggles with one curse. Blew Pettigrew up. All they found of him was his finger."

Aurelia sucked in her breath. _This_ she had not expected.

"That," replied Remus, "is exactly why we're here. You see, Peter Pettigrew is this rat, right here."

He jabbed Peter with his wand.

"This is absurd!" burst out Fudge. "This is Quibbler-worthy material! I demand you explain at once!"

Remus swallowed, then began to explain as best he could. He explained about unregistered Animagi (although leaving out the part about why they had chosen to stay unregistered) and about Peter's and Sirius' forms. He showed the missing toe, and explained that the reason the rat hadn't shown himself to be human might have been because _Peter _had been the Secret-Keeper. (At this point Aurelia brought the discussion to a temporary halt by asking about Secret-Keepers, which took a good five minutes for Remus to explain to her.) He also added that it would be best if they let Sirius go, as he'd already served more than his time for being an unregistered Animagus.

_Thank Merlin he figured it out so quick,_ thought Aurelia.

Fudge remained silent for the entire explanation. As soon as it ended, he snapped impatiently, "I have no proof!"

Remus jabbed Scabbers with his wand.

Aurelia recoiled. It was sort of like watching some sort of plant sprout from the ground, some sort of bizarre tree with a human face staring up at her. Peter Pettigrew, still frozen, lay on the Ministry floor, nine fingers curled nearly into fists and terrified eyes darting around the room.

It felt like someone had punched Aurelia hard in the stomach. A whirlwind of memories attacked her as she looked at the man she'd known so long ago, and she uttered a strangled sob that sort of choked her.

"Well," said Fudge, sounding shaken. "Well. In light of this evidence, I believe a formal trial is in order. Pettigrew will be taken into custody. And you are saying that Black is an Animagus as well?"

"Yes," replied Remus, taking Aurelia's hand in his.

"Then why wouldn't he have tried to escape?"

"Perhaps," said Aurelia in a horribly miserable voice, "he felt so guilty for what he believed to be his fault, he felt he _deserved _it in that horrible place."

"I see," said Fudge. "And I don't believe that you have told me your names."

"Remus Lupin," Remus stated. "And Aurelia McGonagall, my tenant's adopted daughter. I'm watching her for the day."

Fudge nodded, his face suddenly becoming slightly less open. "Then you are a-"

"Yes," said Remus coldly. "But that is neither here nor there, Minister. I have presented the evidence, and I would appreciate if one of your departments could owl us with the trial information."

Fudge nodded. "You may go."

* * *

As soon as they were out of the office, Aurelia saw two Aurors rush by, and realized that they were going to go get Pettigrew. She didn't want to see him again, and broke into a run for the lift. Remus followed her at a walk, and let her stand facing the golden grilles for about a minute before taking her hand again and saying, "I know what'll cheer you up. Come on, let's head home."

They got into the lift. It seemed to Aurelia like all the noise was dulled. She'd expected to cry like she did when Remus had told her that he loved her, but instead she just felt sort of numb.

_My daddy's dead._

_My mummy's dead._

_My godfather's in prison._

_My Wormy's a traitor._

She gripped Remus' hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white, clinging to the last remnant of a childhood stolen from her.

* * *

Minerva and Harry weren't home yet when Remus and Aurelia Flooed in. They were probably at the Weasleys', and this gave Remus ample opportunity to make Aurelia chocolate chip cookies while she sat morosely on the couch with _Hester Prime and the Doomed Glade._

When the cookies were done, Remus told Aurelia that he was going over to the Weasleys' to explain things to Ron and Harry and Minerva, and that she could have all five of the rather large cookies, seeing as she deserved a bit of a treat for going to the Ministry with him. Aurelia decided against pointing out that she hadn't actually chosen to go with him, and pretended to eat a bite of the cookie before putting it down as soon as Remus had Flooed away.

She tried to cry. She felt a horrible agony in her heart, for Padfoot and Wormtail both, and she really wanted to have a good cry. But she just _couldn't._ And that made her feel all the worse. Wasn't she supposed to cry when things like this happened to her? Was she heartless?

Aurelia buried her face in the couch armrest and screamed. It helped a little, but not much.

There was a loud thump from the fireplace. Aurelia didn't move. She still didn't move when she heard footsteps, or when she felt someone sit down next to her on the couch, but she pulled her face up to stare at that someone when he said very softly, "I didn't know, Aury-pie, and I'm really sorry."

Aurelia blinked at Fred, and then she buried her face in his shoulder with a small sigh. She felt his arms wrap around her, but it was when he tentatively pressed his lips to her hair that she jerked up to look at him again.

"Don't," she said softly. "Don't-I can't-I'm not _ready _yet, Fred."

Fred swallowed. "Pushed my luck, I guess."

Aurelia nodded. "I was sort of effed up when I was doing all that kissing in the tree with you. I do like you-in that way-but I don't really feel quite like kissing you. Not yet."  
"I don't mind. I-I'm just glad that you fancy me back, to be honest." Fred pulled her a bit closer. "Lupin told my family, and I had a feeling that you'd need a bit of moral support. Was I right?"

"Yeah." Aurelia smiled tiredly at him. "You're a marvel, Freddie."

"Don't you _dare _call me that. I have a reputation to uphold."

"You seemed fine with it last year."

"We were _twelve _for Merlin's sake!"

The playful banter brought Aurelia out of her misery, and soon she was smiling reluctantly at Fred with a bit more enthusiasm than before.

* * *

When Remus came back from the Weasleys' with Harry and Minerva close behind, they heard from behind the living room door the voice of Fred, who happened to be gently stroking the hair of a half-asleep Aurelia, talking nonstop in a lowered voice.

"Now, I'm not saying that Bill's a prat. Quite the opposite, in fact. But he gives the girl a piece of peanut brittle-"

"You're joking," murmured Aurelia sleepily from Fred's shoulder. "You said he knew she was allergic."

"Nope. He says he forgot. Funny thing to forget. If you really fancy a girl, you know everything there is to know about her. A bit creepy, but true."

"Do you know everything about me, then?"

"I really do fancy you, but I don't study Aurelias for a living."

"That'd be a good-_aaah-_living," yawned Aurelia. "You could be an Aurelialilypotterologist."

"I like Auryologist better. Sounds more official. But I _do _know that you like hydrangeas and hate it when people give you roses, because you find them unimaginative. I know that you like purple because that's what you get when you mix the House colors of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. And I know that you think your hair gets too frizzy in the wind."

"Does it?"

"Nah. Well, a little, but it's endearing. Like your nose. You have a very endearing nose."

"I really like you right now, Fred."

Remus, who had been listening at the door for a proper opening, decided to diminish the possibility of a kiss on the lips by hesitantly opening the door. Luckily, Aurelia's head was still buried in Fred's shoulder, and he motioned silently for Minerva and Harry to go upstairs. Both politely obliged, Harry seeming to want to avoid seeing normally sunny Aurelia so distraught.

"I really like you too. Oh, look, there's Lupin. You feel like you want to go to bed now?"

"I don't _know,_" whispered Aurelia almost tearfully.

"C'mon, Aury, up you get."

"Okay," Aurelia replied reluctantly, looking up at Fred, and then pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

Remus decided that he would leave the room before he murdered Fred, mostly because he was certain that Fred was a trustworthy person but still didn't want to see his doe growing up.

Fred stared at her for a moment, and then he stated, "You said you weren't ready."

"Cheek kisses are fine right now," Aurelia said. "And I really like you, so we're probably going to have more kissing time anyway. Fred, I'm all screwed up. I can't even cry. Why can't I cry?"

Fred looked at her for a moment, and then he said very softly, "I don't think you're a crier when it comes to the serious things, Aurelia."

"Bad pun."

"What?"

"The _sirius _things. As in Sirius-oh. You didn't mean it like that. Oh. Sorry."

Fred uttered half a laugh and then said simply, "See you at Hogwarts, okay, Aury?"

"So the Aury-pie thing is gone now?"

"Yes. I don't like pie anymore. Percy made this disgusting apple pie, and now whenever I say _pie _I think of that. You're just Aury now."

"All right. I'll just call you Freddie then, because when I say _cake_ I think of the cake we made for Harry's birthday last year."

Fred smiled at Aurelia and pulled himself up off the couch. "Okay, I have to go now, because I really love talking to you and if I keep on sitting on this couch I'll end up kissing you and then you'll hate me and we'll break up and I'll miss dinner and Mum'll kill me."

Aurelia laughed quietly, then added, "Horrifying run-on sentence, Fred. So that means we're together then?"

"To be truthful, I have no idea, but I think so."

"That's good. Okay. That's really good." Aurelia grinned at him, her eyes sparkling.

"I'm glad I cheered you up."

"I'm glad you came."

"I really need to go now."

Aurelia nodded, and then got off the couch to give Fred a hug.

* * *

**So there you have it! I don't feel like Aurelia would be very romantic with Fred yet, seeing as he's fancied her for nearly three years and she's only just beginning to feel something for him. But I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it-**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm (who REALLY REALLY wasn't meaning to put an Aurelia/Fred scene in here, but is starting to wonder how much control she has over this story. She knows the ending, but not the middle.)**


End file.
